OECD Working Party on Resource Productivity and Waste Posts Documents Concerning Nanomaterial

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently posted four reflection papers that discuss the possible release of nanomaterials from waste treatment operations and a literature review on four specific waste treatment processes of recycling, incineration, landfilling, and wastewater treatment.  The papers aim to point out the knowledge gaps and areas where further research is needed.

• Incineration of Waste Containing Nanomaterials: The paper was developed to attempt to improve the knowledge base and achieve progress on the discussion concerning the environmentally sound management of waste containing nanomaterials;
• Landfilling of Waste Containing Nanomaterials and Nanowaste: The purpose of the paper is to provide an initial scoping review of readily available scientific information about the source of engineered nanomaterials in landfills, their fate and behavior in landfills, and the effectiveness of treatment technologies;
• Recycling of Waste Containing Nanomaterials: The main objective of the paper is to review the current state of knowledge on the fate of nanomaterials in the course of recycling operations and identify the areas where further work on the environmentally sound management of waste containing nanomaterials would be needed;
• The Fate of Engineered Nanomaterials in Sewage Treatment Plants and Agricultural Applications: The paper investigates the current state of knowledge on engineered nanomaterials and their behavior in wastewater treatment processes to identify the current state of knowledge and areas for future research; and
• Nanomaterials in Waste Streams — Chapter 1: This report surveys the available evidence from the literature for four specific waste treatment processes of recycling, incineration, landfilling, and wastewater treatment to establish the current state of knowledge on the fate and possible impacts of engineered nanomaterials in these processes.