Probabilistic material flow analysis of released nano titanium dioxide in Mexico

Engineered Nanomaterials (ENMs) or products containing ENMs, known as nano-enabled products are commercialized globally by a large number of companies. Concern about the potential risks and negative impacts of releasing ENMs into the environment is under investigation. For this reason, methodologies to estimate the probable mass concentrations of ENMs released in different regions of the world have been developed. As a first attempt to estimate the probable mass flows of nanosized titanium dioxide (nano-TiO₂) released in Mexico, we developed a Probabilistic Material Flow Analysis (PMFA) for 2015.

The model describes probabilistic mass flows of released nano-TiO₂ during the life cycle of sunscreens, coatings, ceramic, and other nano-enabled products, including the flows through the solid waste and wastewater management systems, as well as the transfer of nano-TiO₂ to three environmental compartments (atmosphere, topsoil, and surface water). The PMFA incorporates the uncertainty related to the input data. We observed that the most significant nano-TiO₂ flows occur to the surface water, landfill, and soil compartments, targeted as the main “hot-spots”, where living organisms could be more exposed to this material. Further improvements in the model are needed due to some data gaps at some life cycle stages, for instance, solid waste management and reused wastewater manipulation for irrigation purposes. Finally, the model developed in this study can be adjusted to assess other ENM releases and can be beneficial for further investigation in fate modeling and environmental risk assessment.