NanoImpactNet – Final Report

NANOIMPACTNET has been a successful and productive multidisciplinary European
network on the health and environmental impact of nanomaterials. The project, that ran from
2008 to 2012 brought together scientists from different disciplines as well as facilitated twoway communication to ensure efficient dissemination of information to stakeholders and the
European Commission, while at the same time obtaining input from the stakeholders about
their needs and concerns relating to the health and safety implications of nanomaterials. In
addition to the 24 leading European research groups behind NANOIMPACTNET, the larger
network who had signed up to receive information consisted of over 3500 people active in the
field of nanosafety. NANOIMPACTNET has organized 4 international conferences, 19
workshops and 8 training schools. In addition to the many reports and articles published in the
grey and peer-reviewed literature generated as part of the NANOIMPACTNET activities, the
project has also collected research protocols from the various FP6 and FP7 projects, ensured
the accessibility of common, agreed terminology for nanotechnologies (in collaboration with
ISO) and NANOIMPACTNET members have participated in the NanoSafety Cluster and the
US-EU workshops and emerging Communities of Research at the request of the EU.
Since NANOIMPACTNET has come to an end part of the activities are now being continued
within the QNano research infrastructure project and via the NanoSafety Cluster. It is
recommended that the EU will ensure that the connections forged over the past 4 years will be
durable, not only within the nanosafety and risk area but also towards the material scientists
and (end) users of nanomaterials. This will be needed as long as major uncertainties exist on
the health and safety aspects of nanomaterials and until scientists fully understand what are
the key factors that may cause adverse health and environmental problems and how
developers of nanomaterials can benefit from this knowledge to design safer products.