NANOHETER

As part of the risk assessment of nanotechnology, this project deals with the exposure aspect of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), focusing on their fate in surface water. Based on the trace concentrations expected to be present, the approach claims that the dispersion stability of ENPs in the water column is not a driving characteristic for their fate, but that their potential for interaction with the mineral and organic suspended matter occurring in surface water will be the governing factor. The aim of this project is to identify among these materials the potential carriers for ENPs. Mechanistic, holistic and model approaches will be conducted together. The interaction of ENPs with surrounding materials will be investigated, and the potentially induced heteroaggregation and/or sedimentation mechnisms will be studied. The goal is to deliver a probability ranking of these potential scenarios that can be used to model the fate of ENPs in natural aqueous systems at the river scale.