Examples and case studies

Release of nanomaterials may occur during any stage of the life-cycle and can eventually lead to exposure to humans, the environment or products. Due to the large number of combinations of release processes and nanomaterials, release scenarios can currently only be tested on a case-by-case basis. This chapter presents five case studies on nanomaterial release under different conditions. While two of the case studies investigate the potential release under well-defined laboratory conditions in order to obtain a clearer picture on the release processes, the other three studies measure the potential release in real workplaces. By combining these two approaches, it is possible to gather more information on release of and exposure to nanomaterials to eventually group the different release processes and scenarios, which will significantly simplify the investigations.