Lessons learnt in InnoMat.Life – Final conference
27-28.06.2022
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR)
Location Marienfelde, Big Lecture Hall
Diedersdorfer Weg 1, 12277 Berlin
In the last 20 years nanosafety research has intensely investigated possible adverse effects of nanomaterials and their mitigation. The focus was on nanomaterials composed of single substances with narrow size distribution and mainly spheroidal geometry such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide with some additional research on carbon nanotubes and graphene.
However, many more material variants can be found on the market already. Often hybrid materials are used, which are composed of two or more chemical substances. Many of the industrially used materials are polydisperse, meaning that they contain particles in a broad size distribution including sizes beyond the nanoscale. Moreover, in many industrial applications material systems are applied, which change their structure during production or application such as in additive manufacturing. Currently, it remains unclear to which extent the findings of nanosafety research can be applied to these more complex material types.
The InnoMat.Life project (Innovative materials and new production processes: Safety in the life cycle and industrial value added) is coming to an end and they are organising their final event. Under the title “From Nano- to Advanced Materials”, the event will present the lessons learnt form the InnoMat.Life project in following topics:
- Environmental Testing and Assessment Strategies for advanced materials
- Human Testing and Assessment Strategies: Fibres
- Human Testing and Assessment Strategies: Polymer Particles
- Advanced Manufacturing and lessons learnt for other advanced materials
The overarching aim of the InnoMat.Life project is the establishment of criteria and similarity concepts that allow for a grouping based on hazard or risk profiles of those innovative and/or more complex material types. InnoMat.Life focuses on three material classes, supporting regulators, industry and decision makers by providing suitable methods to conduct hazard and risk assessment of these innovative and complex material types with a special emphasis on establishing criteria and similarity concepts to perform grouping:
- Polydisperse materials for industrial applications such as metals or polymer powders for additive manufacturing or 3D printing
- materials with other and potentially critical morphologies such as rods, plates or fibres, and
- hybrid materials such as mixed organic and inorganic structures. The project addresses exposure and hazards for human and the environment and also considers the whole life cycle of these complex materials from synthesis to disposal. The knowledge obtained in the project will support the faster development of safe innovative material systems and allow for timely assessment of possible risks.
HARMLESS partner, Andrea Haase (from BfR) is coordinating this InnoMat.Life national project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).