Nanomaterials are considered to be substances with at least one external dimension in the 1 to 100 nanometer (nm) range, exhibiting novel or enhanced properties due to their nanoscale size. As nanotechnology is an emerging field, the hazardous effects of many nanoparticles are not completely understood . Since these materials are relatively new, they are to be considered hazardous and must be handled cautiously until adequate data on the hazards of these nanomaterials has been collected for health and environment safety information.
If you will be working with nanomaterials, please see the following link on Handling Nanomaterials . All UBC employees working with and/or handling nanomaterials should follow these guidelines. It describes methods to safely handle, use, and store nanomaterials. Emergency procedures for dealing with accidental spills or nanoparticles exposure are also included. The SoE also requires research groups working with nanomaterials to have Standard Operating Procedures outlining the work that will be done, including information on emergency response.
If you or your lab have not worked with this hazard before and you are considering a procedure that requires you to do so, we recommend contacting francois.miros@ubc.ca or hse.ok@ubc.ca for risk assessment/guidance.