Novel Materials in the Environment: The case of nanotechnology

ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CHAIRMAN: SIR JOHN LAWTON CBE, FRS Twenty-seventh Report Novel Materials in the Environment: The case of nanotechnology Presented to Parliament by Command of Her Majesty November 2008 Cm 7468 £ 26.60 PREVIOUS REPORTS BY THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION 26th report Special report 25th report Special report 24th report Special report 23rd report 22nd report 21st report 20th report 19th report 18th report 17th report 16th report 15th report 14th report 13th report 12th report 11th report 10th report 9th report 8th report 7th report 6th report 5th report 4th report 3rd report 2nd report The Urban Environment Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders Turning the Tide – Addressing the Impact of Fisheries on the Marine Environment Biomass as a Renewable Energy Source Chemicals in Products – Safeguarding the Environment and Human Health The Environmental Effects of Civil Aircraft in Flight Environmental Planning Energy – the Changing Climate Setting Environmental Standards Transport and the Environment – Developments since 1994 Sustainable Use of Soil Transport and the Environment Incineration of Waste Freshwater Quality Emissions from Heavy Duty Diesel Vehicles GENHAZ – A system for the critical appraisal of proposals to release genetically modified organisms into the environment The Release of Genetically Engineered Organisms to the Environment Best Practicable Environmental Option Managing Waste: The Duty of Care Tackling Pollution – Experience and Prospects Lead in the Environment Oil Pollution of the Sea Agriculture and Pollution Nuclear Power and the Environment Air Pollution Control: An Integrated Approach Pollution Control: Progress and Problems Pollution in Some British Estuaries and Coastal Waters Three Issues in Industrial Pollution First Report Cm 7009, March 2007 September 2005 Cm 6392, December 2004 April 2004 Cm 5827, June 2003 September 2002 Cm 5459, March 2002 Cm 4749, June 2000 Cm 4053, October 1998 Cm 3752, September 1997 Cm 3165, February 1996 Cm 2674, October 1994 Cm 2181, May 1993 Cm 1966, June 1992 Cm 1631, September 1991 Cm 1557, June 1991 Cm 720, July 1989 Cm 310, February 1988 Cm 9675, December 1985 Cm 9149, February 1984 Cm 8852, April 1983 Cm 8358, October 1981 Cm 7644, September 1979 Cm 6618, September 1976 Cm 6371, January 1976 Cm 5780, December 1974 Cm 5054, September 1972 Cm 4894, March 1972 Cm 4585, February 1971 © Crown Copyright 2008 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms and other departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context.The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document specified. 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For any other use of this material please write to Office of Public Sector Information, Information Policy Team, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU or e-mail: licensing@opsi.gov.uk ISBN: 9780101746823 ii ROYAL COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Twenty-seventh Report To the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY We, the undersigned Commissioners, having been appointed ‘to advise on matters, both national and international, concerning the pollution of the environment; on the adequacy of research in this field; and the future possibilities of danger to the environment’; And to enquire into any such matters referred to us by one of Your Majesty’s Secretaries of State or by one of Your Majesty’s Ministers, or any other such matters on which we ourselves shall deem it expedient to advise: HUMBLY SUBMIT TO YOUR MAJESTY THE FOLLOWING REPORT. iii “… for I was never so small as this before, never!” Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, 1907 “Technology … is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.” C.P. Snow, The New York Times, 1971 More information about the current work of the Royal Commission can be obtained from its website at http://www.rcep.org.uk or from the Secretariat at Room 108, 55 Whitehall, London SW1A 2EY. iv Contents Paragraph Page Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Novel materials 1.1 1 Applications of novel materials 1.5 1 Definitions of novel materials 1.14 3 Functionality: Should we be concerned? 1.21 5 Trans-science, world views and the control dilemma 1.31 7 This report 1.43 9 Chapter 2 PURPOSE, PRODUCTION AND PROPERTIES OF NOVEL MATERIALS: THE CASE OF NANOMATERIALS Introduction 2.1 10 The nanoscale 2.4 10 Terms to describe nanoscale technologies and materials 2.5 12 Properties of materials and nanomaterials 2.9 13 Composition 2.14 14 Size and shape 2.17 15 Surface properties 2.19 16 Solubility 2.22 16 Aggregation 2.23 16 Applications and uses of novel materials 2.25 17 Examples of nanomaterials and their uses 2.25 17 The nanotechnology innovation system 2.32 21 Pathways and fate of nanomaterials in the environment 2.41 23 The environmental life cycle of nanomaterials 2.53 25 Conclusions 2.56 26 Chapter 3 ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS OF MANUFACTURED NANOMATERIALS Introduction 3.1 27 Environmental benefits of nanomaterials 3.16 31 Novel toxicological threats 3.20 32 Nanotoxicology 3.24 32 v ... - tailieumienphi.vn