“Advanced materials” and the challenges on the horizon for testing their (eco)toxicity and assessing their hazard

Fazel Abdolahpur Monikh*, Willie Peijnenburg, Agnes G. Oomen, Eugenia Valsami-Jones, Vicki Stone, Raine Kortet, Jarkko Akkanen, Peng Zhang, Jukka Kekäläinen, Alena Sevcu, Jussi V. K. Kukkonen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)
96 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

“Advanced Materials” (AdMas) represent the next technology frontier. According to the European Union, AdMas are materials that feature a series of exceptional properties or functionalities compared to conventional materials. Considering the progress made in the design and application of AdMas, their adverse effects are still largely unknown whilst this is critical for assessing their environmental and human health risk. In this perspective, we first summarize the available definitions/descriptions and categorizations that cover AdMas and evaluate their adequacy from a toxicological point of view. We further describe the challenges and outlook on the toxicology of AdMas and propose solutions to tackle some of the challenges. Criteria related to which AdMas might induce hazards are discussed and used to propose a starting point of how to address AdMas in legal frameworks that consider human and environmental risks. Finally, we highlight the benefit of classification, e.g., enabling differentiation between AdMas based on their properties that might induce specific hazards and facilitate a faster pathway to identify the hazards of new AdMas, which is particularly relevant for safe-by-design.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)162-170
Number of pages9
JournalEnvironmental Science: Advances
Volume2
Issue number2
Early online date21 Dec 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Pollution
  • Water Science and Technology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of '“Advanced materials” and the challenges on the horizon for testing their (eco)toxicity and assessing their hazard'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this