Estimation of Titanium dioxide and Silver engineered nanoparticles environmental exposure risks in water: a case of Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

Nanotechnology-based applications have dramatically increased in commercial and industrial applications1-3 (see Figures 1, 2 and 3). Also, the growth of nanotechnology-based consumer products (nanoproducts) in the global market is expected to increase in future as shown in Figure 4. However, there is current limited risk assessment data of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in the actual environmental systems4-6 (see Figure 5) due to lack of metrology to quantify their fate, toxicity, and behaviour. To address part of this challenge, the ENPs potential risks to the aquatic systems have been quantified using modelling approaches within a city, country or continental scales7-9. In this study, modelling results on the potential risk profiles of ENPs in the Gauteng Province (GP) are presented. The results seek to contribute towards safe, responsible and sustainable exploitation of nanotechnology capabilities for societal good by quantifying the potential risks that can guide in developing appropriate approaches of managing ENPs.