A research team at Loughborough University has gained funding from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) to investigate the health and safety impact of nanotechnology.

The use of the technology sees particles manufactured and incorporated into many products used on a day-to-day basis, with nanotechnology widely being adopted across the sporting industry in recent years.

Such examples include carbon nanotubes used to make bicycle frames and tennis rackets lighter and more durable, while golf clubs and hockey sticks are given a more powerful and accurate drive using modified particles.

The research funding will now allow the team at Loughborough to focus on the demolition and recycling of nano-products, as these are the most aggressive stages in a product’s life in the built environment.

The research team will work alongside demolition experts to determine potential methods for the demolition and recycling of nano-products.

This will then help to establish the bioavailability of the nanoparticles to see whether they could become hazardous to humans.

“Governments across the world are advising a prudent approach,” said project lead and Royal Academy Professor Alistair Gibb. “However, it is hard to be prudent when you don’t know where the nanoparticles are, which types they are or the likelihood of them becoming bioavailable.

“Our research will examine these issues. It is as important to establish that a product does not contain harmful particles or that they do not become bioavailable through processes such as demolition as it is to find out that they do.

“The team wants to help society to take advantage of these ‘wonder materials’, but in a safe and healthy manner.”

The research team is currently seeking collaborators to identify and obtain product samples before the full project begins.