Argonne's Center of Nanoscale Materials sets the standard for safety at the nanoscale

Excitement over nanomaterials is driving increased research around the world, but reports of the materials' exotic new properties have put nanosafety in the media spotlight. At places like Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), where scientists work with these materials every day, safety receives special attention.

"We've been conducting experiments at the Center for Nanoscale Materials for a few months," says CNM Director Eric Isaacs," and we apply the same rigorous safety standards to this work that we apply to all work at Argonne. Since planning started a few years ago for the CNM and the other four Department of Energy nanoscale science research centers, Argonne has been among the leaders in a growing national community that's focused on the safety of nanomaterials.

"At the CNM," Isaacs says, "our role is to conduct basic research on the synthesis and properties of nanomaterials. This very research is crucial for safety. By doing fundamental research on these materials, we help lay the groundwork for ultimately understanding their impact, whether it's to the human body or the environment."

As with any new technology, it's important to separate fact from fiction. "Self-replicating nanorobots with minds of their own make an interesting premise for a movie or novel, but are not realistic science," says Stephen Streiffer, the CNM's associate director for science. "The public has daily experience with the safe use of nanotechnology in consumer products, even if we don't always call it that. For example, modern electronics are built from nanoscale components. Typical integrated circuits have features that measure in the range of 60 to 90 nanometers."

"From a safety perspective, the exotic phenomena that nanosized materials exhibit are not necessarily new," says Bruce Stockmeier. "Unusual reactivity, toxicity and combustibility are hazards that laboratory researchers are accustomed to controlling."

Stockmeier is the CNM's Environmental Safety and Health Officer and chair of the American Industrial Hygiene Association's (AIHA) Nanotechnology Working Group. The AIHA is a key organization in developing and implementing protocols, tools and consensus standards for protecting workers against ill-health effects throughout the world.

"However," he adds, "these hazards can appear in the nanosized forms of substances that don't exhibit the same behavior in their bulk form. We need to be cautious and not assume that “low risk” findings derived from studies of bulk substances also apply to their nanoscale forms."

Management and staff at all five DOE nanocenters are keenly aware of the need for safety. Streiffer says, “Our work at CNM uses very small amounts of material, and our facility is designed to prevent exposure of our staff to hazardous materials and to prevent release of these materials into the environment."

"The new opportunities to better create and understand nano materials has everyone one of very excited," said Isaacs, "and safety is a critical part of this understanding."