Abstract
Environmental exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) may be intentional (smart fertilizers, soil/water remediation) or unintentional (effluent discharge into natural waters, application of biosolids to lands). Promises include smart fertilizers, use of encapsulated growth hormones, and remediation of contaminated lands/waters. Risks include potential negative effects on soil fertility and organism health, and possibility of bioaccumulation/magnification through the food chain. As yet, our understanding of ENM effects on environmental receptors is still specific to the combination of ENM, organism, and medium tested. Few data are available on effects and interactions with organisms in natural waters, sediments, and soils, especially at environmentally relevant exposure concentrations. The role that ENM functionalization, coatings, and transformations in the environment will play on their fate and effects is also poorly understood. More mesocosm-level tests will increase our understanding of ENM effects on organisms in the environment, and improved techniques to characterize ENMs in complex natural media will increase our understanding of how these effects are modulated by transformations ENMs will undergo in natural media.
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