ÉquiNanos: innovative team for nanoparticle risk management

Interactions between nanoparticles (NP), humans and the environment are not fully understood yet. Moreover, frameworks aiming at protecting human health have not been adapted to NP but are nonetheless applied to NP-related activities. Consequently, business organizations currently have to deal with NP-related risks despite the lack of a proven effective method of risk-management. To respond to these concerns and fulfill the needs of populations and industries, EquiNanos was created as a largely interdisciplinary provincial research team in Canada. EquiNanos consists of eight platforms with different areas of action, from adaptive decision-aid tool to public and legal governance, while including biological monitoring. EquiNanos resources aim at responding to the concerns of the Quebec nanotechnology industry and public health authorities. Our mandate is to understand the impact of NP on human health in order to protect the population against all potential risks emerging from these high-priority and rapidly expanding innovative technologies.