Products in the EU should be safe. At the same time, however, the promotion of innovation is needed to remain competitive. A contradiction? Not necessarily – the Safe-by-Design (SbD) concept aims to take safety issues into account during the entire development phase of new products.

At the ITA the NanoTrust project, started by André Gazsó in 2007, is conducting accompanying research on approaches to the regulation of nanotechnologies, as well as safety and risk research of nanotechnologies. The 50^th issue of the NanoTrust Dossier deals with the earliest possible integration of safety and sustainability into innovation processes. This is considered significant for Gazsó and his colleagues Gloria Rose and Anna Pavlicek: "The innovation process around nanomaterials is often about economic and consumer interests: can we develop a foil that makes food more durable? Nanoparticles in sunscreen protect our skin more effectively, but what happens if these nanoparticles enter the environment or the waste stream? Safe-by-Design is an attempt to greatly reduce risks through the use of safe materials, tools and techniques".

Increased occupational safety, environmental protection, financial savings or the protection of human health – while a number of concepts are already dealing with issues relating to with the safe handling of innovative materials and products in a wide variety of business sectors, nano-specific SbD concepts have not yet established themselves and are therefore being researched intensively.

By: Denise Riedlinger