Journal of Hazardous Materials 279 (2014) 75–84 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Hazardous Materials j o ur nal ho me pa ge: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhazmat Unintended emission of nanoparticle aerosols during common laboratory handling operations Virginia Gomez a , Silvia Irusta a,b,∗ , Francisco Balas b,c , Nuria Navascues a , Jesus Santamaria a,b,∗ a Department of Chemical Engineering, Nanoscience Institute of Aragon (INA), 50018 Zaragoza, Spain b Networking Biomedical Research Center of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 50018 Zaragoza, Spain c Instituto de Carboquímica–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICB-CSIC), 50018 Zaragoza, Spain h i g h l i g h t s • Aerosol nanoparticles generation during common laboratory operations was studied. • Dust concentration and NEFs were similar for common laboratory operations. • NEF for the handling processes were in the range of 10 8 # h -1 . • Ce/TiO 2 showed rapid interaction between emitted and ambient nanoparticles. a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 6 February 2014 Received in revised form 24 June 2014 Accepted 28 June 2014 Available online 5 July 2014 Keywords: Nanoparticle Handling Aerosol emission Laboratory operations a b s t r a c t Common laboratory operations such as pouring, mashing in an agate mortar, transferring with a spatula, have been assessed as potential sources for emission of engineered nanoparticles in simulated occu- pational environments. Also, the accidental spilling from an elevated location has been considered. For workplace operations, masses of 1500 or 500 mg of three dry-state engineered nanoparticles (SiO 2 , TiO 2 and Ce-TiO 2 ) with all dimensions under 30 nm, and one fibrous nanomaterial (MWCNT) with diameter under 10 nm and length about 1.5 m were used. The measured number emission factors (NEF) for every operation and material in this work were in the range of 10 5 # s -1 . The traceability of emitted nanopar- ticles has been improved using Ce-doping on TiO 2 nanoparticles. With this traceable material it was possible to show that generated aerosol nanoparticles are rapidly associated with background particles to form large-sized aerosol agglomerates. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Although the presence of the nanotechnology in the market- place is rapidly growing, in many cases consumers remain unaware of the nature and characteristics of nanomaterial-containing products [1]. Products and utensils containing engineered nano- materials (ENMs) such as nanoparticles or carbon nanotubes may become sources of unintended human exposure, mainly through ∗ Corresponding authors at: Department of Chemical Engineering, Nanoscience Institute of Aragon (INA), 50018 Zaragoza, Spain. Tel.: +34 876555437; fax: +34 976762776. E-mail addresses: sirusta@unizar.es (S. Irusta), Jesus.Santamaria@unizar.es (J. Santamaria). dermal and respiratory routes. Nanoparticles are also found widely in nature, and natural sources include ash, desert dusts, aerosols and metal oxide particles. Although evolved to deal with natu- ral nanomaterials and their fluctuations over millennia, it is not known how organisms will cope with high discharges of anthro- pogenic nanomaterials into the environment [2]. Once released, the behavior of ENMs in the environment depends on their sur- face area and size, among other material parameters [3]. Due to their small size (under 100 nm), the exposure to ENMs could imply hazards beyond the capabilities of conventional industrial safety and hygiene procedures. According to O’Shaughnessy, a worst-case scenario regarding exposure to ENMs concerns the manufacture of nanoparticles, especially in the dry state [4]; even though accidental spills during manufacturing would be even a worst sit- uation. Many common tasks in occupational settings involved in http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.06.064 0304-3894/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.