Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Nanoparticle pollution and associated increasing potential risks on environment and human health: a case study of China

  • Position paper
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aims of this study are (1) to discuss the mechanism of nanoparticle lifecycle and estimate the impacts of its associated pollution on environment and human health; and (2) to provide recommendation to policy makers on how to leverage nanopollution and human health along with the rapid development of economics in China. Manufactured nanoparticles (MNPs) could either directly or indirectly impair human health and the environment. Exposures to MNP include many ways, such as via inhalation, ingestion, direct contact, or the use of consumer products over the lifecycle of the product. In China, the number of people exposed to MNP has been increasing year by year. To better provide medical care to people exposed to MNP, the Chinese government has established many disease control and prevention centers over China. However, the existing facilities and resources for controlling MNP are still not enough considering the number of people impacted by MNP and the number of ordinary workers in the MNP related industry applying for their occupational identification through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. China should assess the apparent risk environment and human health being exposed to MNP and develop action plans to reduce the possibility of direct contacts between human beings and the emerging nanomaterials. In addition, we suggest more comprehensive studies on the MNP behavior and the development of quantitative approaches to measure MNP transport, and persistence should be carried out.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Asharani PV, Hande MP, Valiyaveettil S (2009a) Antiproliferative activity of silver nanoparticles. BMC Cell Biol 10:65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • AshaRani PV, Low Kah Mun G, Hande MP, Valiyaveettil S (2009b) Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of silver nanoparticles in human cells. ACS Nano 3(2):279–290

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Auffan M, Rose J, Wiesner MR, Bottero JY (2009) Chemical stability of metallic nanoparticles: a parameter controlling their potential cellular toxicity in vitro. Environ Pollut 157:1127–1133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baun A, Sørensen SN, Rasmussen RF, Hartmann NB, Koch CB (2008) Toxicity and bioaccumulation of xenobiotic organic compounds in the presence of aqueous suspensions of aggregates of nano-C60. Aquat Toxicol 86:379–387

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bihari P, Vippola M, Schultes S, Praetner M, Khandoga AG, Reichel CA, Coester C, Tuomi T, Rehberg M, Krombach F (2008) Optimized dispersion of nanoparticles for biological in vitro and in vivo studies. Part Fibre Toxicol 5:14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brant J, Lecoanet H (2005) Wiemer M R (2005) Aggregation and deposition characteristics of fullerene nanoparticles in aqueous systems. J Nanopart Res 7(4/5):545–553

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buffle J (2006) The key role of environmental colloids/nanoparticles for the sustainability of life. Environ Chem 3(3):155–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Statistic Information Ministry of Health (CSIMH), Health development statistical bulletin in China, 2011.

  • China National Environmental Monitoring Centre (CNEMC). Air quality rport in 74 Chinese cities in March and the first quarter 2013. (in Chinese).

  • Cho WS, Cho M, Jeong J, Choi M, Cho HY, Han BS, Kim SH, Kim HO, Lim YT, Chung BH (2009) Acute toxicity and pharmacokinetics of 13 nm-sized PEG-coated gold nanoparticles. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 236(1):16–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham MJ. Gene-cellular interactions of nanomaterials: genotoxicity to genomics. In: Monteiro-Riviere NA, Tran CL(Eds.), Nanotoxicology Characterization, Dosing and Health Effects. Informa healthcare, New York, USA, 2007.

  • Dhawan A, Sharma V (2010) Toxicity assessment of nanomaterials: methods and challenges. Anal Bioanal Chem 398:589–605

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong D, Shao M, Li Y, Lu S, Wang Y, Ji Z, Tang D (2014) Carbonyl emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicle exhaust in China and the contribution to ozone formation potential. J Environ Sci 26(1):122–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duvall MR, Norris AG, Dailey AL, Burke MJ, McGee KJ, Gilmour IM, Gordon T, Devlin BR (2008) Source apportionment of particulate matter in the U.S. and associations with lung inflammatory markers. Inhal Toxicol 20:671–683

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foldbjerg R, Dang DA, Autrup H (2011) Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of silver nanoparticles in the human lung cancer cell line, A549. Arch Toxicol 85(7):743–750

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gaiser BK, Fernandes TF, Jepson M, Lead JR, Tyler CR, Stone V (2009) Assessing exposure, uptake and toxicity of silver and cerium dioxide nanoparticles from contaminated environments. Environ Heal 8(Suppl 1):S2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao Y, Xia J (2011) Chromium contamination accident in China: viewing environment policy of China. Environ Sci Technol 45(20):8605–8606

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao Y, Luo ZX, He NP, Wang MK (2013) Metallic nanoparticle production and consumption in China between 2000 and 2010 and associative aquatic environmental risk assessment. J Nanoparticle Res 15:1681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottschalk F, Nowack B (2011) The release of engineered nanomaterials to the environment. J Environ Monit 13:1145–1155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Groso A, Petri-Fink A, Magrez A, Michael R, Meyer T (2010) Management of nanomaterials safety in research environment. Part Fibre Toxicol 7:40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo GY, Yuan T, Wang WH, Li D, Cheng JP, Gao Y, Zhou P (2011) Bioavailability, mobility, and toxicity of Cu in soils around the dexing Cu mine in china. Environ Geochem Health 33:217–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hernández-Mena L, Murillo-Tovar M, Ramírez-Muńíz M, Colunga-Urbina E, Garza-Rodríguez I, Saldarriaga-Noreňa H (2011) Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 87: 545–549

  • Hsin YH, Chen CF, Huang S, Shih TS, Lai PS, Chueh PJ (2008) The apoptotic effect of nanosilver is mediated by a ROS- and JNK-dependent mechanism involving the mitochondrial pathway in NIH3T3 cells. Toxicol Lett 179(3):130–139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang RJ, Zhang YL, Bozzetti C, Ho KF, Cao JJ, Han YM, Daellenbach KR, Slowik JG, Platt SM, Canonaco F, Zotter P, Wolf R, Pieber SM, Bruns EA, Crippa M, Ciarelli G, Piazzalunga A, Schwikowski M, Abbaszade G, Schnelle-Kreis J, Zimmermann R, An ZS, Szidat S, Baltensperger U, Haddad I, Prévôt A (2014) High secondary aerosol contribution to particulate pollution during haze events in China. Nature 514:218–222

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang W, Mashayekhi H, Xing B (2009) Bacterial toxicity comparison between nano- and micro-scaled oxide particles. Environ Pollut 157(5):1619–1625

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kasemets K, Ivask A, Dubourguier HC, Kahru A (2009) Toxicity of nanoparticles of ZnO, CuO and TiO2 to yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Toxicol In Vitro 23(6):1116–1122

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kawata K, Osawa M, Okabe S (2009) In vitro toxicity of silver nanoparticles at noncytotoxic doses to HepG2 human hepatoma cells. Environ Sci Technol 43(15):6046–6051

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim CS, Jaques PA (2000) Respiratory dose of inhaled ultrafine particles in healthy adults. Philos Trans R Soc Lond A 358:2693–2705

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lasagna-Reeves C, Gonzalez-Romero D, Barria MA, Olmedo I, Clos A, Sadagopa Ramanujam VM, Urayama A, Vergara L, Kogan MJ, Soto C (2010) Bioaccumulation and toxicity of gold nanoparticles after repeated administration in mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 393(4):649–655

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li JJ, Hartono D, Ong CN, Bay BH, Yung LY (2010) Autophagy and oxidative stress associated with gold nanoparticles. Biomater 31(23):5996–6003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Linkov I, Satterstrom FK, Monica JC Jr, Hansen SF, Davis TA (2009) Nano risk governance: current developments and future perspectives. Nanotechnol Law Bus 6:203–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Lopez-Moreno ML, De-la-Rosa G, Hernandez-Viezcas JA, Castillo-Michel H, Botez CE, Peralta-Videa JR, Gardea-Torresdey JL (2010) Evidence of the differential biotransformation and genotoxicity of ZnO and CeO2 nanoparticles on soybean (glycine max) plants. Environ Sci Technol 44:7315–7320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch I, Dawson KA (2008) Protein–nanoparticle interactions. Nano Today 3(1–2):40–47

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma YJ, Chen RJ, Pan GW, Xu XH, Song WM, Chen BH, Kan HD (2011) Fine particulate air pollution and daily mortality in Shenyang, China. Sci Total Environ 409:2473–2477

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer A, Vadon M, Rinner B, Novak A, Wintersteiger R, Fröhlich E (2009) The role of nanoparticle size in hemocompatibility. Toxicology 258:139–147

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McNeil SE (2005) Nanotechnology for the biologist. J Leukoc Biol 78:585–594

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miao CY, Ni JR, Borthwick AGL (2010) Recent changes in water discharge and sediment load of the Yellow River basin, China. Prog Phys Geog 34(4):541–561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miao CY, Ni JR, Borthwick AGL, Yang L (2011) A preliminary estimate of human and natural contributions to the changes in water discharge and sediment load in the Yellow River. Global Planet Change 76(3–4):196–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miao CY, Ashouri H, Hsu K, Sorooshian S, Duan QY (2015) Evaluation of the PERSIANN-CDR daily rainfall estimates in capturing the behavior of extreme precipitation events over China. J Hydrometeorol 16:1387–1396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MIIT) (2011) Chinese nano-materials industry market and investment forecast report in 2011–2017.

  • Miura N, Shinohara Y (2009) Cytotoxic effect and apoptosis induction by silver nanoparticles in HeLa cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 390(3):733–737

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nowack B, Bucheli TD (2007) Occurrence, behavior and effects of nanoparticles in the environment. Environ Pollut 150(1):5–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien NJ, Cummins EJ (2011) A risk assessment framework for assessing metallic nanomaterials of environmental concern: aquatic exposure and behavior. Risk Anal 31(5):706–726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Y, Leifert A, Ruau D, Neuss S, Bornemann J, Schmid G, Brandau W, Simon U, Jahnen-Dechent W (2009) Gold nanoparticles of diameter 1.4 nm trigger necrosis by oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. Small 5(18):2067–2076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • People Net. http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/70731/16494511.html. 2011.

  • Poland CA, Duffin R, Kinloch I, Maynard A, Wallace WA, Seaton A, Stone V, Brown S, Macnee W, Donaldson K (2008) Carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity of mice show asbestos like pathogenicity in a pilot study. Nat Nanotechnol 3:423–428

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pope CA, Burnett RT, Thurston GD, Thun MJ, Calle EE, Krewski D, Godleski JJ (2004) Cardiovascular mortality and long-term exposure to particulate air pollution: epidemiological evidence of general pathophysiological pathways of disease. Circulation 109:71–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pui DYH, Chen SC, Zuo ZL (2014) PM2.5 in China: measurements, sources, visibility and health effects, and mitigation. Particuology 13:1–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Risslera J, Swietlicki E, Bengtsson A, Boman C, Jo P, Sandströmd T, Blomberg A, Löndahl J (2012) Experimental determination of deposition of diesel exhaust particles in the human respiratory tract. J Aerosol Sci 48:18–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romieu I, Barraza A, Escamilla C, Almstrand C, Díaz D, Sly P, Carin A (2008) Exhaled breath malondialdehyde as a marker of effect of exposure to air in children with asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 121:903–909

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savolainen K, Alenius H, Norppa H, Pylkkänen L, Tuomi T, Kasper G (2010a) Risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials and nanotechnologies—a review. Toxicology 269(2–3):92–104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savolainen K, Pylkkäen L, Norppa H, Falcka G, Lindberg H, Tuomi T, Vippola M, Alenius H, Hämeri K, Koivisto J, Brouwer D, Mark D, Bard D, Berges M, Jankowsk E, Posniak M, Farmer P, Singh R, Krombach F, Biharig P, Kasper G, Seipenbusch M (2010b) Nanotechnologies, engineered nanomaterials and occupational health and safety—a review. Saf Sci 48:957–963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sina, http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2009-09-16/220418665133.shtml. 2009. (In Chinese)

  • Song Y, Li X, Du X (2009) Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma. Eur Respir J 34:559–567

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sweet L, Strohm B (2006) Nanotechnology-life-cycle risk management. Hum Ecol Risk Assessment Intern J 12(3):528–551

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tarantola M, Schneider D, Sunnick E, Adam H, Pierrat S, Rosman C, Breus V, Sonnichsen C, Basche T, Wegener J, Janshoff A (2009) Cytotoxicity of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles indicated by cellular micromotility. ACS Nano 3(1):213–222

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The World Market for Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Consumer Products (NNCP), 2010.

  • Theng BKG, Yuan G (2008) Nanoparticles in the soil environment. Elements 4(6):395–399

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas K, Aguar P, Kawasaki H, Morris M, Nakanishi J, Savage N (2006) Strategies for safety evaluation of nanomaterials, part VIII: international efforts to develop risk-based safety evaluations for nanomaterials. Toxicol Sci 92:23–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas T, Bahadori T, Savage N, Thomas K (2009) Moving toward exposure and risk evaluation of nanomaterials: challenges and future directions. Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 1:426–433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuji JS, Maynard AD, Howard PC, James JT, Lam CW, Warheit DB, Santamaria AB (2006) Research strategies for safety evaluation of nanomaterials, part IV: risk assessment of nanoparticles. Toxicol Sci 89:42–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA. (2009). Integrated science assessment for particulate matter (final report)

  • Wichmann HE (2007) Diesel exhaust particles. Inhal Toxicol 19(Suppl 1):241–244

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiwanitkit V, Sereemaspun A, Rojanathanes R (2009) Effect of gold nanoparticles on spermatozoa: the first world report. Fertil Steril 91(1):7–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshizaki K, Brito JM, Moriya HT, Toledo AC, Ferzilan S, Ligeiro de Oliveira AP, Machado ID, Farsky SH, Silva LF, Martins MA, Saldiva PH, Mauad T, Macchione M (2015) Chronic exposure of diesel exhaust particles induces alveolar enlargement in mice. Respir Res 16:18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu X, Wang J, Zhang X, Chang Y, Chen Y (2009) The impact of ZnO nanoparticle aggregates on the embryonic development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Nanotechnol 20(19):195103

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors declare that they have no competing interests. The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful remarks. This work was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 31570465), State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology Open Fund, Research Center (SKLURE2015-2-2) for Eco-Environmental Sciences. Gao Yang wrote this manuscript; Yang Tiantian participated in its design and coordination, and drafted several parts of the manuscript; and Jin Jin polished the language of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yang Gao

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

    Tiantian Yang

  3. Beijing GeoEnviron Engineering and Technology Inc., Beijing, 100095, China

    Jin Jin

Authors
  1. Yang Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tiantian Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jin Jin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yang Gao or Tiantian Yang.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gao, Y., Yang, T. & Jin, J. Nanoparticle pollution and associated increasing potential risks on environment and human health: a case study of China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 19297–19306 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5497-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5497-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation