Application of control banding to workplace exposure to nanomaterials in the textile industry

Abstract

Nanomaterials are now present in many consumer products, including textiles. They offer new technical and commercial opportunities but may pose risks to the consumers and to the environment and raise occupational health and safety concerns. The control banding approach for occupational risk management applied to engineered nanomaterials, according to ISO/TS 12901-2:2014, is a pragmatic approach useful for the control of workplace exposure to possibly hazardous agents with unknown or uncertain toxicological properties and for which quantitative exposure estimations are lacking. Nanomaterials are now often applied to textiles by means of textile finishing; in the present paper, a case study is presented in a finishing company involving two chemical finishes involving nanomaterials: mosquito repellency and antibacterial finish. The risk analysis concerned mainly four workers involved either in the preparation of the finishing baths and on the conducting of the stenter frame. Following the application of control banding method, measures to mitigate risks have been envisaged: appropriate ventilation and use of adequate personal protective equipment. Hazards related to one of the chemicals are higher and require also the use of a closed booth and a smoke extractor. The safety data sheets are the first source of information on how to handle and care for a particular product containing nanomaterials, but the information provided is still non-existent or very limited, in terms of the specific hazards and risks of nanomaterials.