Nanotechnology Risk Assessment and Governance

Nanotechnology offers transformative applications across sectors from medicine to energy, yet the unique properties of nanoscale materials pose distinct challenges for human health, environmental integrity and societal acceptance. Effective risk assessment requires characterisation of nanomaterial properties, exposure pathways and hazard potentials under realistic use and disposal scenarios. Governance frameworks integrate these assessments with stakeholder engagement, regulatory oversight and adaptive management to ensure responsible innovation. Approaches such as Safe-by-Design embed safety considerations in early stages of material development, while life cycle assessment identifies environmental and socio-economic impacts from production to end-of-life. A robust risk governance strategy demands harmonised methods, transparent decision support tools and international cooperation to balance technological benefits with precautionary measures.

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Nanotechnology Risk Assessment and Governance publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in nanotechnology risk assessment and governance across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Nanomaterial: A material with at least one dimension in the range of 1–100 nanometres, exhibiting unique physicochemical properties.

Risk governance: The structured process of assessment, management and communication of risks, involving multiple stakeholders and regulatory bodies.

Safe-by-Design: An approach that incorporates safety considerations into the earliest stages of material or product development to prevent hazards.

Life cycle assessment (LCA): A systematic evaluation of environmental and socio-economic impacts of a product or material from cradle to grave.

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA): A method for comparing alternatives by weighting diverse criteria, often under uncertainty and limited data.

References

1. Decision support for selection of new materials considering socio-economic and broader environmental aspects. Sustainable Production and Consumption (2023).
2. Learning from Safe-by-Design for Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design: Mapping the current landscape of Safe-by-Design reviews, case studies, and frameworks. Environment International (2023).
3. Risk Governance of Nanomaterials: Review of Criteria and Tools for Risk Communication, Evaluation, and Mitigation. Nanomaterials (2019).
4. Environmental Risk Assessment Strategy for Nanomaterials. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2017).