The semiconductor industry uses a growing variety of materials, as companies seek to further improve devices’ performance to meet increasing market demand in a constant process of innovation. Understanding properties of these innovative materials and nanoforms, and how they behave in living systems, such as the human body, often comes years after the materials have been adopted. Such an inherent uncertainty brings about multiple challenges in the governance of the occupational and environmental risks. This is a common challenge of many technology-intensive sectors, which requires a systematic risk reduction approach.

The goal of the NanoStreeM project is to promote good practices by identifying and implementing standards, identify gaps in methodologies and directions for further investigations in order to support governance of the occupational risk induced by the use of nanomaterials in semiconductor industry. The NanoStreeM consortium combines unique expertise throughout the research and development chain: from the academic labs via technology development through semiconductor application side. We aim to identify all cases of concern and propose a systematic strategy of prioritization and management of risk.

Ambition

• better understanding of the occupational hazards related to the use of nanomaterials
• better governance of the risks related to of the manipulation of nano-materials on the workers and environment using the semiconductor industry as an example
• intensification of the international cooperation in the areas of standardization and risk governance related to nanomaterial use
• promotion of public knowledge in the understanding of the occupational hazards related to the use of nanomaterials

1 January 2016 – 31 December 2018