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Overview of ecological studies on the fate and effects of nanomaterials in the marine environment
Citation:
Burgess, R. AND K. Ho. Overview of ecological studies on the fate and effects of nanomaterials in the marine environment. Global Summit on Regulatory Science 2019, Stresa, Lombardy, ITALY, September 24 - 26, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Nanomaterials are very small particles that are increasingly being used in consumer electronics and industrial applications. Little information is available on what happens to nanomaterials in the marine environment and what they do to aquatic life. For several years, we operated a research program looking at the fate and effects of nanomaterials in the marine environment. Some nanomaterials, if released into the marine environment, quickly settled into the mud and had little negative effects. Other nanomaterials released potentially toxic metals like copper. We concluded that many nanomaterials do not represent a threat to the marine environment while the ones that released toxic metals could be handled with existing environmental regulations. Finally, research on nanomaterials has the potential to inform research fate and effects of nanoplastics in marine systems.
Description:
Little information is available on the fate and effects of nanomaterials in the marine environment; however, to develop informed regulations for these materials, this type of information is essential. In 2010, a research program was initiated by the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development to investigate the environmental impacts of nanomaterials to human health and the environment including aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Within aquatic ecosystems, a marine nanomaterials research effort was established. The objective of this program was to study the fate and effects of several nanomaterials under marine conditions including single-walled carbon nanotubes, nanosilver, titanium dioxide, quantum dots, graphene oxide and nanocopper. In most cases, especially for the pristine nanomaterials, once introduced into seawater, the nanomaterials aggregated, precipitated and sorbed to natural organic matter in the sediments of the benthic environment. In some of these instances, chemical and toxicological analyses indicated the nanomaterials were not bioavailable and probably represented very little ecological risk. In a limited number of cases, especially for consumer products (e.g., nanocopper treated lumber, quantum dots), the nanomaterial released potentially toxic materials in the form of copper and cadmium ions. From an environmental perspective, we concluded that many nanomaterials, if released into the marine environment, are likely to accumulate in estuarine and marine sediments and demonstrate limited bioavailability and hazard. Nanomaterials that released potentially toxic dissolved ions may be able to be addressed using Ambient Water Quality Criteria which are based on dissolved exposures of contaminants to aquatic organisms. Due to the lack of marine sublethal toxicity tests, uncertainty remains related to those types of potential effects and further research is needed. Finally, research on nanomaterials has the potential to inform analogous investigations on the fate and effects of nanoplastics in marine systems.