ISO Publishes Standard on Considerations for the Measurement of Nano-Objects and Their Aggregates and Agglomerates in Environmental Matrices

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard ISO/TR 21386, “Nanotechnologies — Considerations for the measurement of nano-objects and their aggregates and agglomerates (NOAA) in environmental matrices.”  The standard provides some considerations for the collection of environmental samples to be analyzed for manufactured NOAA, considerations to distinguish manufactured NOAA from background levels of naturally occurring nanoscale particles of the same composition, and preparation procedures to aid in the quantification of manufactured nanomaterials in environmental matrices.

The ISO standard builds on the work of the Industry Consortium for Environmental Measurement of Nanomaterials (ICEMN), a consortium of stakeholders involved with the production, assessment, and use of nanomaterials working collectively and cooperatively to provide information that would address environmental measurement of nanoscale materials and to enhance the state of the science in this regard.  The Consortium included representatives from industry, academia, and government groups, and was managed by B&C^® Consortia Management, L.L.C.