Engineered nanomaterials (ENM) are already used in many products and consequently released into environmental compartments. In this study, we calculated predicted environmental concentrations (PEC) based on a probabilistic material flow analysis from a life-cycle perspective of ENM-containing products. We modeled nano-TiO(2), nano-ZnO, nano-Ag, carbon nanotubes (CNT), and fullerenes for the U.S., Europe and Switzerland. The environmental concentrations were calculated as probabilistic density functions and were compared to data from ecotoxicological studies. The simulated modes (most frequent values) range from 0.003 ng L(-1) (fullerenes) to 21 ng L(-1) (nano-TiO(2)) for surface waters and from 4 ng L(-1) (fullerenes) to 4 microg L(-1) (nano-TiO(2)) for sewage treatment effluents. For Europe and the U.S., the annual increase of ENMs on sludge-treated soil ranges from 1 ng kg(-1) for fullerenes to 89 microg kg(-1) for nano-TiO(2). The results of this study indicate that risks to aquatic organisms may currently emanate from nano-Ag, nano-TiO(2), and nano-ZnO in sewage treatment effluents for all considered regions and for nano-Ag in surface waters. For the other environmental compartments for which ecotoxicological data were available, no risks to organisms are presently expected.

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Not much is known so far about the amounts of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) that are produced but this information is crucial for environmental exposure assessment. This paper provides worldwide and Europe-wide estimates for the production and use of ten different ENM (TiO 2 , ZnO, FeO x , AlO x , SiO 2 , CeO 2 , Ag, quantum dots, CNT, and fullerenes) based on a survey sent to companies producing and using ENM. The companies were asked about their estimate of the worldwide or regional market and not about their company-specific production, information that they would be less likely to communicate. The study focused on the actual production quantities and not the production capacities. The survey also addressed information on distribution of the produced ENM to different product categories. The results reveal that some ENM are produced in Europe in small amounts (less than 10 t/ year for Ag, QDs and fullerenes). The most produced ENM is TiO 2 with up to 10,000 t of worldwide production. CeO 2 , FeO x , AlO x , ZnO, and CNT are produced between 100 and 1000 t/year. The data for SiO 2 cover the whole range from less than 10 to more than 10,000 t/year, which is indicative of problems related to the definition of this material (is pyrogenic silica considered an ENM or not?). For seven ENM we have obtained the first estimates for their distribution to different product categories, information that also forms the base for life-cycle based exposure analysis.

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