Risk Governance of Emerging Technologies Demonstrated in Terms of its Applicability to Nanomaterials

Nanotechnologies have reached maturity and market penetration that require nano-specific changes in legislation and harmonization among legislation domains, such as the amendments to REACH for nanomaterials (NMs) which came into force in 2020. Thus, an assessment of the components and regulatory boundaries of NMs risk governance is timely, alongside related methods and tools, as part of the global efforts to optimise nanosafety and integrate it into product design processes, via Safe(r)-by-Design (SbD) concepts. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art regarding risk governance of NMs and lays out the theoretical basis for the development and implementation of an effective, trustworthy and transparent risk governance framework for NMs. The proposed framework enables continuous integration of the evolving state of the science, leverages best practice from contiguous disciplines and facilitates responsive re-thinking of nanosafety governance to meet future needs. To achieve and operationalise such framework, a science-based Risk Governance Council (RGC) for NMs is being developed. The framework will provide a toolkit for independent NMs' risk governance and integrates needs and views of stakeholders. An extension of this framework to relevant advanced materials and emerging technologies is also envisaged, in view of future foundations of risk research in Europe and globally

Risk Governance of Emerging Technologies Demonstrated in Terms of its Applicability to Nanomaterials

Nanotechnologies have reached maturity and market penetration that require nano-specific changes in legislation and harmonization among legislation domains, such as the amendments to REACH for nanomaterials (NMs) which came into force in 2020. Thus, an assessment of the components and regulatory boundaries of NMs risk governance is timely, alongside related methods and tools, as part of the global efforts to optimise nanosafety and integrate it into product design processes, via Safe(r)-by-Design (SbD) concepts. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art regarding risk governance of NMs and lays out the theoretical basis for the development and implementation of an effective, trustworthy and transparent risk governance framework for NMs. The proposed framework enables continuous integration of the evolving state of the science, leverages best practice from contiguous disciplines and facilitates responsive re-thinking of nanosafety governance to meet future needs. To achieve and operationalise such framework, a science-based Risk Governance Council (RGC) for NMs is being developed. The framework will provide a toolkit for independent NMs' risk governance and integrates needs and views of stakeholders. An extension of this framework to relevant advanced materials and emerging technologies is also envisaged, in view of future foundations of risk research in Europe and globally

The Ciliate Fauna of an Unpolluted German Foothill Stream, the Breitenbach, 2: Quantitative Aspects of the Ciliates (Ciliophora; Protozoa) in Fine Sediments

Ciliata in sandy bedsediments of the Breitenbach were studied quantitatively. The Breitenbach is an unpolluted foothill stream in Hesse, Germany, which runs through an area of fine-grained sandstone. The stream lacks a porous, continuously oxygenated, hyporheic zone. Sediment cores were collected at monthly intervals, from September 1990 to August 1991, at four sites along the stream, to depths of 10 cm. They were subdivided into 2 cm layers, and live Ciliata were counted directly in diluted samples. Their abundance varied greatly, the observed maximum being about 4000/ml sediment in March 1991. There was no longitudinal gradient of ciliate abundance, and it showed no clear seasonal pattern at one site; but at the other three sites it peaked in spring and early summer. At two sites, bacterivorous Ciliata were normally dominant, but peak abundances resulted from increased numbers of herbivorous species. Depth distribution of Ciliata peaked in the 0-2 cm sediment layer. Some so-called sapropelic taxa (genera Metopus, Brachonella and Caenomorpha) were normally observed only below 2 cm depth; but during periods of low discharge they also occurred in the top layer of sediment. Biomass was up to 170 µg wet weight/ml sediment. Small ciliata (<60 μm) were strongly dominant all the time, and seasonal variation of biomass was essentially parallel to numerical abundance

The Ciliate Fauna of an Unpolluted Foothill Stream, the Breitenbach, 1: Qualitative Aspects

The ciliate fauna of a small, unpolluted stream, the Breitenbach in Hesse, Germany, was investigated during 1990-1992; 143 taxa were found: 113 taxa occurred in periphyton on artificial substrata and 69 taxa in the sediment; 39 taxa were common to both habitats. There was a high degree of similarity between several sampling sites along the stream. Those species which were constant representatives of the Breitenbach fauna were ubiquistic, there was no specialized ciliate fauna characteristic of the stream

Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Verfahrens zur Seensanierung mittels Calcitaufspuelung Abschlussbericht

The lake Arendsee (Saxony-Anhalt) is characterized by a high level of phosphorus concentration and massive blooms of greens during the summer months. As proved in a pilot project (lake Rudower See, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) precipitation by suspended calcite can be used as a natural control mechanism of eutrophication. The applicability of this method to the Arendsee has been studied in this project as a preparation for the planned large-scale rehabilitation of this lake. In batch and enclosure experiments the influence of calcite has been studied on the nutrient concentration and on the plankton development in the water of the Arendsee. Quantity and quality of calcareous mud at the sea bottom are sufficient and suited for the in-lake calcite treatment. (WEN)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F94B2162+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman