Research reports

HSE is sponsoring research to assess the number of UK workplaces/workers handling engineered nanomaterials. HSL in partnership with the Nanosafety forum will carry out a survey to identify organisations and companies UK manufacturing or using nanomaterials in their business. The survey will identify the type of nanomaterials used, the number of workers exposed and the companies' awareness of the potential health and safety issues regarding nanotechnology. The data collected will help HSE apply sensible risk assessments and play our part in maintaining Health and Safety as a cornerstone of UK business.

Following on from the survey assessing the number of UK workplaces/workers handling engineered nanomaterials, a more in depth study on the controls employed by these businesses will be started. A cross section of up to twenty small to medium enterprises manufacturing or handling nanomaterials will have their controls examined in more depth, by carrying out simple measurements on-site.

• HSE Nanotechnology research outline tables - December 10 update
• RR782 Fire and explosion properties of nanopowders
  Published 2009, this project characterised the fire and explosion properties of a range of commercially available nanopowders.
• RR513 The assessment of different metrics of the concentration of nano (ultrafine) particles in existing and new industries
  Published 2006, this project determined what relationships exist between the mass, number and active surface area for current instrumentation measuring in terms of these parameters, and to determine how these relationships are affected by particle characteristics such as composition and morphology.
• Nanoparticle Occupational Safety and Health (NOSH) Consortium Executive Summary
  The NOSH Consortium was formed with the idea of pooling resources. The project is now complete and the executive summary provides details of publications and outline results, published 2007.
  Note: This is a document which has been produced externally from HSE, therefore it does not meet normal publication standards.
• RR274 Nanoparticles: An occupational hygiene review
  Published 2004, this review was undertaken by the Institute of Occupational Medicine under contract from HSE and focussed on processes for the deliberate development and manufacture of nanoparticle products.
• Literature review - explosion hazards associated with nanopowders
  This is a short literature review undertaken at our request by the Health and Safety Laboratory, published 2004.