Engineered containment and control of airborne nanoparticles: Current status

Abstract

Industry began years ago to manufacture engineered nanoparticles (NPs) and introduce them into products and processes. Meanwhile, the question of the risks associated with nanotechnologies remains unanswered. International organizations that monitor these risks are recommending not only total containment of NPs but also an integrative approach to achieving this by design. Techniques such as electrostatic precipitation, filtration, wet scrubbing and mechanical separation are effective at containing or extracting airborne NPs and thus minimizing worker exposure. Each of these techniques has its advantages and limitations. This literature review shows that the development of effective NP containment and control technologies would benefit from proper engineering of the manufacturing system as a whole.