Department of Chemistry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada.
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C5, Canada.
Environ Sci Technol. 2021 Jul 20;55(14):9836-9844. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00488. Epub 2021 Jun 28.
Nanoparticle (NP) emissions to the environment are increasing as a result of anthropogenic activities, prompting concerns for ecosystems and human health. In order to evaluate the risk of NPs, it is necessary to know their concentrations in various environmental compartments on regional and global scales; however, these data have remained largely elusive due to the analytical difficulties of measuring NPs in complex natural matrices. Here, we measure NP concentrations and sizes for Ti-, Ce-, and Ag-containing NPs in numerous global surface waters and precipitation samples, and we provide insights into their compositions and origins (natural or anthropogenic). The results link NP occurrences and distributions to particle type, origin, and sampling location. Based on measurements from 46 sites across 13 countries, total Ti- and Ce-NP concentrations (regardless of origin) were often found to be within 10 to 10 NP mL, whereas Ag NPs exhibited sporadic occurrences with low concentrations generally up to 10 NP mL. This generally corresponded to mass concentrations of <1 ng L for Ag-NPs, <100 ng L for Ce-NPs, and <10 μg L for Ti-NPs, given that measured sizes were often below 15 nm for Ce- and Ag-NPs and above 30 nm for Ti-NPs. In view of current toxicological data, the observed NP levels do not yet appear to exceed toxicity thresholds for the environment or human health; however, NPs of likely anthropogenic origins appear to be already substantial in certain areas, such as urban centers. This work lays the foundation for broader experimental NP surveys, which will be critical for reliable NP risk assessments and the regulation of nano-enabled products.
由于人为活动，纳米颗粒（NP）向环境中的排放不断增加，这引发了人们对生态系统和人类健康的担忧。为了评估 NPs 的风险，有必要知道它们在区域和全球范围内各种环境介质中的浓度；然而，由于在复杂的自然基质中测量 NPs 存在分析困难，这些数据在很大程度上仍然难以获得。在这里，我们测量了许多全球地表水和降水样品中含 Ti、Ce 和 Ag 的 NPs 的浓度和粒径，并深入了解了它们的组成和来源（天然或人为）。研究结果将 NP 的出现和分布与颗粒类型、来源和采样地点联系起来。基于来自 13 个国家 46 个地点的测量结果，发现无论来源如何，总 Ti 和 Ce-NP 浓度（通常在 10 到 10 NP mL 之间）通常处于较高水平，而 Ag NPs 的出现则较为零星，浓度通常较低，一般不超过 10 NP mL。这通常对应于 Ag-NPs 的质量浓度 <1 ng L，Ce-NPs 的质量浓度 <100 ng L，Ti-NPs 的质量浓度 <10 μg L，因为测量的粒径通常对于 Ce 和 Ag-NPs 来说低于 15 nm，而对于 Ti-NPs 来说高于 30 nm。鉴于目前的毒理学数据，观察到的 NP 水平似乎尚未超过环境或人类健康的毒性阈值；然而，在某些地区，如城市中心，可能具有人为起源的 NPs 已经相当多。这项工作为更广泛的实验性 NP 调查奠定了基础，这对于可靠的 NP 风险评估和纳米技术产品的监管至关重要。
