ABSTRACT
While human exposure to airborne nanoparticles (NP) has been ongoing since early evolution, the extent of exposure increased dramatically with the advent of the industrial revolution and will continue to rise with the rapid development of nanotechnology as human use and production of these particles increases (1). Therefore, alongside these advances, we must take account of the increase in potential for release into the environment and uptake into the human body with a currently unknown magnitude of risk. The lack of information on potential effects of NP on human and environmental health has been highlighted in over 20 international reports from agencies such as DEFRA (2), US-EPA (3) and the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineers working group on nanoscience and nanotechnology (4) emphasizing the requirement for a proper risk assessment of NP and the need for suitable barrier models (5).
