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Like nanotechnology, translational science is a relatively new and transdisciplinary field. Translational science in occupational safety and health (OSH) focuses on the process of taking scientific knowledge for the protection of workers from the lab to the field (i.e., the worksite/workplace) and back again. Translational science has been conceptualized as having multiple phases of research along a continuum, beyond scientific discovery (T 0 ), to efficacy (T 1 ), to effectiveness (T 2 ), to dissemination and implementation (D&I) (T 3 ), to outcomes and effectiveness research in populations (T 4 ). The translational research process applied to occupational exposure to nanomaterials might involve similar phases. This builds on basic and efficacy research (T 0 and T 1 ) in the areas of toxicology, epidemiology, industrial hygiene, medicine and engineering. In T 2 , research and evidence syntheses and guidance and recommendations to protect workers may be developed and assessed for effectiveness. In T 3 , emphasis is needed on D&I research to explore the multilevel barriers and facilitators to nanotechnology risk control information/research adoption, use, and sustainment in workplaces. D&I research for nanomaterial exposures should focus on assessing sources of information and evidence to be disseminated /implemented in complex and dynamic workplaces, how policy-makers and employers use this information in diverse contexts to protect workers, how stakeholders inform these critical processes, and what barriers impede and facilitate multilevel decision-making for the protection of nanotechnology workers. The T 4 phase focuses on how effective efforts to prevent occupational exposure to nanomaterials along the research continuum contribute to large-scale impact in terms of worker safety, health and wellbeing (T 4 ). Stakeholder input and engagement is critical to all stages of the translational research process. This paper will provide: (1) an illustration of the translational research continuum for occupational exposure to nanomaterials; and (2) a discussion of opportunities for applying D&I science to increase the effectiveness, uptake, integration, sustainability, and impact of interventions to protect the health and wellbeing of workers in the nanotechnology field., Competing Interests: PS was employed by the company Advanced Technologies and Laboratories (ATL) International, Inc., under contract with NIOSH. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Schulte, Guerin, Cunningham, Hodson, Murashov and Rabin.)

Exposure science is fundamental to the field of occupational safety and health. The measurement of worker exposures to hazardous agents informs effective workplace risk mitigation strategies. The modern era of occupational exposure measurement began with the invention of the personal sampling device, which is still widely used today in the practice of occupational hygiene. Newer direct-reading sensor devices are incorporating recent advances in transducers, nanomaterials, electronics miniaturization, portability, batteries with high-power density, wireless communication, energy-efficient microprocessing, and display technology to usher in a new era in exposure science. Commercial applications of new sensor technologies have led to a variety of health and lifestyle management devices for everyday life. These applications are also being investigated as tools to measure occupational and environmental exposures. As the next-generation placeable, wearable, and implantable sensor technologies move from the research laboratory to the workplace, their role in the future of work will be of increasing importance to employers, workers, and occupational safety and health researchers and practitioners. This commentary discusses some of the benefits and challenges of placeable, wearable, and implantable sensor technologies in the future of work., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

: Potential adverse health effects associated with exposure to engineered or synthesized nanomaterials have not been reported in humans; however, there is accumulating evidence from animal studies that exposure to some nanomaterials is harmful. While there is uncertainty as to the likelihood, frequency, and intensity of exposures experienced by those working around engineered nanoparticles, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has developed this guidance document for occupational medicine physicians and their colleagues to offer prudent preventive recommendations on the topics of exposure monitoring, exposure controls, and medical surveillance.

Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, recreational, public, and commercial uses have expanded significantly in recent years. In the construction industry, UAVs are used primarily for monitoring of construction workflow and job site logistics, inspecting construction sites to assess structural integrity, and for maintenance assessments. As is the case with other emerging technologies, occupational safety assessments of UAVs lag behind technological advancements. UAVs may create new workplace hazards that need to be evaluated and managed to ensure their safe operation around human workers. At the same time, UAVs can perform dangerous tasks, thereby improving workplace safety. This paper describes the four major uses of UAVs, including their use in construction, the potential risks of their use to workers, approaches for risk mitigation, and the important role that safety and health professionals can play in ensuring safe approaches to the their use in the workplace., (Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

Synthetic biology is an emerging interdisciplinary field of biotechnology that involves applying the principles of engineering and chemical design to biological systems. Biosafety professionals have done an excellent job in addressing research laboratory safety as synthetic biology and gene editing have emerged from the larger field of biotechnology. Despite these efforts, risks posed by synthetic biology are of increasing concern as research procedures scale up to industrial processes in the larger bioeconomy. A greater number and variety of workers will be exposed to commercial synthetic biology risks in the future, including risks to a variety of workers from the use of lentiviral vectors as gene transfer devices. There is a need to review and enhance current protection measures in the field of synthetic biology, whether in experimental laboratories where new advances are being researched, in health care settings where treatments using viral vectors as gene delivery systems are increasingly being used, or in the industrial bioeconomy. Enhanced worker protection measures should include increased injury and illness surveillance of the synthetic biology workforce; proactive risk assessment and management of synthetic biology products; research on the relative effectiveness of extrinsic and intrinsic biocontainment methods; specific safety guidance for synthetic biology industrial processes; determination of appropriate medical mitigation measures for lentiviral vector exposure incidents; and greater awareness and involvement in synthetic biology safety by the general occupational safety and health community as well as by government occupational safety and health research and regulatory agencies.

Background: The toxicological properties of manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) can be different from their bulk-material and uncertainty remains about the adverse health effects they may have on humans. Proposals for OELs have been put forward which can be useful for risk management and workers' protection. We performed a systematic review of proposals for OELs for MNMs to better understand the extent of such proposals, as well as their derivation methods., Methods: We searched PubMed and Embase with an extensive search string and also assessed the references in the included studies. Two authors extracted the data independently., Results: We identified 20 studies that proposed in total 56 OEL values. Of these, two proposed a generic level for all MNMs, 14 proposed a generic OEL for a category of MNMs and 40 proposed an OEL for a specific nanomaterial. For specific fibers, four studies proposed a similar value but for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) the values differed with a factor ranging from 30 to 50 and for metals with a factor from 100 to 300. The studies did not provide explanations for this variation. We found that exposure to MNMs measured at selected workplaces may exceed even the highest proposed OEL. This indicates that the application and use of OELs may be useful for exposure reduction., Conclusion: OELs can provide a valuable reference point for exposure reduction measures in workplaces. There is a need for more and better supported OELs based on a more systematic approach to OEL derivation.

Background: Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have a large economic impact in a range of fields, but the concerns about health and safety of occupational activities involving nanomaterials have not yet been addressed. Monitoring exposure is an important step in risk management. Hence, the interest for reviewing studies that reported a potential for occupational exposure., Methods: We systematically searched for studies published between January 2000 and January 2015. We included studies that used a comprehensive method of exposure assessment. Studies were grouped by nanomaterial and categorized as carbonaceous, metallic, or nanoclays. We summarized data on task, monitoring strategy, exposure outcomes, and controls in a narrative way. For each study, the strength of the exposure assessment was evaluated using predetermined criteria. Then, we identified all exposure situations that reported potential occupational exposure based on qualitative or quantitative outcomes. Results were synthesized and general conclusion statements on exposure situations were formulated. The quality of evidence for the conclusion statements was rated as low, moderate, or high depending on the number of confirmed exposure situations, the strength of the exposure assessment, and the consistency of the results., Results: From the 6403 references initially identified, 220 were selected for full-text screening. From these, 50 studies describing 306 exposure situations in 72 workplaces were eligible for inclusion (27 industrial-scale plants and 45 research or pilot-scale units). There was a potential for exposure to ENMs in 233 of the exposure situations. Exposure occurred in 83% (N = 107) of the situations with carbonaceous ENMs, in 73% (N = 120) of those with metallic ENMs and in 100% (N = 6) of those with nanoclay. Concentrations of elemental carbon in the workers' breathing zone ranged from not detected (ND) to 910 µg m(-3) with local engineering controls (LEC), and from ND to 1000 µg m(-3) without those controls. For carbon nanofibres (CNFs), particle counts ranged from ND to 1.61 CNF structures cm(-3) with LEC, and from 0.09 to 193 CNF structures cm(-3) without those controls. The mass concentrations of aluminium oxide, titanium dioxide, silver, and iron nanoparticles (NPs) were ND, 10-150, 0.24-0.43, and 32 µg m(-3) with LEC, while they were <0.35, non-applicable, 0.09-33, and 335 µg m(-3) without those controls, respectively., Conclusions: Regarding the potential of exposure in the workplace, we found high-quality evidence for multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), single-walled CNTs, CNFs, aluminium oxide, titanium dioxide, and silver NPs; moderate-quality evidence for non-classified CNTs, nanoclays, and iron and silicon dioxide NPs; low-quality evidence for fullerene C60, double-walled CNTs, and zinc oxide NPs; and no evidence for cerium oxide NPs. We found high-quality evidence that potential exposure is most frequently due to handling tasks, that workers are mostly exposed to micro-sized agglomerated NPs, and that engineering controls considerably reduce workers' exposure. There was moderate-quality evidence that workers are exposed in secondary manufacturing industrial-scale plants. There was low-quality evidence that workers are exposed to airborne particles with a size <100nm. There were no studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.)

The increasing use of robots in performing tasks alongside or together with human co-workers raises novel occupational safety and health issues. The new 21st century workplace will be one in which occupational robotics plays an increasing role. This article describes the increasing complexity of robots and proposes a number of recommendations for the practice of safe occupational robotics.

Nanotechnology is rapidly expanding into the health care industry. However, occupational safety and health risks of nano-enabled medical products have not been thoroughly assessed. This manuscript highlights occupational risk mitigation practices for nano-enabled medical products throughout their life cycle for all major workplace settings including (1) medical research laboratories, (2) pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, (3) clinical dispensing pharmacies, (4) health care delivery facilities, (5) home health care, (6) health care support, and (7) medical waste management. It further identifies critical research needs for ensuring worker protection in the health care industry.

There is still uncertainty about the potential health hazards of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) particularly involving carcinogenicity. However, the evidence is growing that some types of CNTs and nanofibers may have carcinogenic properties. The critical question is that while the carcinogenic potential of CNTs is being further investigated, what steps should be taken to protect workers who face exposure to CNTs, current and future, if CNTs are ultimately found to be carcinogenic? This paper addresses five areas to help focus action to protect workers: (i) review of the current evidence on the carcinogenic potential of CNTs; (ii) role of physical and chemical properties related to cancer development; (iii) CNT doses associated with genotoxicity in vitro and in vivo; (iv) workplace exposures to CNT; and (v) specific risk management actions needed to protect workers., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

A number of reports have been published regarding the applicability of existing regulatory frameworks to protect consumers and the environment from potentially adverse effects related to introduction of nanomaterials into commerce in the United States and the European Union. However, a detailed comparison of the regulatory approaches to worker safety and health in the USA and in the EU is lacking. This report aims to fill this gap by reviewing regulatory frameworks designed to protect workers and their possible application to nanotechnology.

We propose a proactive approach to the management of occupational health risks in emerging technologies based on six features: qualitative risk assessment; the ability to adapt strategies and refine requirements; an appropriate level of precaution; global applicability; the ability to elicit voluntary cooperation by companies; and stakeholder involvement.

Applications of nanotechnology in medicine such as cancer treatment drugs, imaging agents, and sensors promise to save people's lives and improve quality of life. Although only a limited number of nano-enabled medical applications are commercially available at this time, many are in the final stages of approval by regulatory agencies overseeing medical applications. Workers' exposure to nano-enabled medical applications in research and development laboratories and manufacturing facilities can already occur. This article reviews the information available on exposure to nano-enabled medical applications in occupational settings such as manufacturing and health care facilities. First, this report reviews monitoring exposure to conventional medical applications. Next, it describes monitoring exposure to nanomaterials. And, finally, it summarizes monitoring exposure to nano-enabled medical applications highlighting their unique aspects., ((c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Increasing numbers of workers are involved with the production, use, distribution, and disposal of nanomaterials. At the same time, there is a growing number of reports of adverse biological effects of engineered nanoparticles in test systems. It is useful, at this juncture, to identify critical questions that will help address knowledge gaps concerning the potential occupational hazards of these materials. The questions address (i) hazard classification of engineered nanoparticles, (ii) exposure metrics, (iii) the actual exposures to the different engineered nanoparticles in the workplace, (iv) the limits of engineering controls and personal protective equipment with respect to engineered nanoparticles, (v) the kinds of surveillance programs that may be required at workplaces to protect potentially exposed workers, (vi) whether exposure registers should be established for workers potentially exposed to engineered nanoparticles, and, (vii) whether engineered nanoparticles should be treated as "new" substances and evaluated for safety and hazards?

Exposures to silica-containing dusts are associated with a risk of developing life-threatening lung diseases. However, the mechanism of silica toxicity is poorly understood. In this work the atomic structure of the surfaces of different silica polymorphs was determined, and a relationship with in vitro silica toxicity was examined. The density of geminal and single silanol groups was quantitatively estimated for different silica polymorphs using a novel molecular modeling method. An association was found between the reported haemolytic activity and modeled densities of surface geminal (but not single) silanol groups on several silica polymorphs. These findings suggest a new view of aerosol toxicity based on the estimation of surface site densities. The results can be used in the development of new toxicological assays for respirable particulates, including nanomaterials.

Interactions of pulverized crystalline silica with biological systems, including the lungs, cause cell damage, inflammation, and apoptosis. To allow computational atomistic modeling of these pathogenic processes, including interactions between silica surfaces and biological molecules, new parameters for quartz, compatible with the CHARMM empirical force field were developed. Parameters were optimized to reproduce the experimental geometry of alpha-quartz, ab initio vibrational spectra, and interactions between model compounds and water. The newly developed force field was used to study interactions of water with two singular surfaces of alpha-quartz, (011) and (100). Properties monitored and analyzed include the variation of the density of water molecules in the plane perpendicular to the surface, disruption of the water H-bond network upon adsorption, and space-time correlations of water oxygen atoms in terms of Van Hove self-correlation functions. The vibrational density of states spectra of water in confined compartments were also computed and compared with experimental neutron-scattering results. Both the attenuation and shifting to higher frequencies of the hindered translational peaks upon confinement are clearly reproduced by the model. However, an upshift of librational peaks under the conditions of model confinement still remains underrepresented at the current empirical level.