SABYDOMA publication Aug. 2023
As the result of a hard work, this fantastic publication on Safety-by-Design and engineered nanomaterials and the need to move from theory to practice of our colleagues of Factor Social, University of Leeds, NILU, Applied NanoParticles, BNN, NovaMechanics, University of Hong Kong, and Fraunhofer IBMT has just been published on the Environment Systems and Decisions journal:
Trump, B.D., Antunes, D., Palma-Oliveira, J. et al. Safety-by-design and engineered nanomaterials: the need to move from theory to practice. Environ Syst Decis (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s10669-023-09927-w
As the governance of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) evolves, innovations in the prevention, mitigation, management, and transfer of risk shape discussion of how nanotechnology may mature and reach various marketplaces. Safety-by-Design (SbD) is one leading concept that, while equally philosophy as well as risk-based practice, can uniquely help address lingering uncertainties and concerns stemming from regulatory evaluation of ENM risk across worker, consumer, and environmental safety. This paper provides a discussion on the SbD concept across different disciplines aiming to identify different approaches and needs to meet regulatory requirements—ultimately, we argue that SbD is evolving both to meet the needs and discourse of various disciplines, and to apply within differing marketplaces and national regulatory structures. Understanding how SbD has evolved within ENM can yield a more practical application and development of SbD, and help guide or unify national and international ENM governance around a core set of safety-driven principles.