Catch and release: engineered nano particle α, leaching and detection
Monday, January 26, 2015
Presenter
Niall O’Brien
Niall O’Brien, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Abstract: A widely applicable regulatory scheme requires standardized test methods and informed/reasonable assumptions related to substance transport and transformation, including degradation and adsorption. Here, the regulatory methods and assumptions associated with substance adsorption to organic and inorganic matter (a limiting factor for transport and bio-uptake) are tested for engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and compared to an alternative fate descriptor, α. Complementing the bench-scale work on ENP transport and adsorption, a mesocosm study of surface bound and solid suspended ENP leaching from wood products and subsequent transport in soil and water is presented. Techniques to quantify environmental elemental load due to ENPs are discussed, along with additional work required to relate these results to bench-scale experiments.