Associated Health Risks of Nanomaterials in the Paints and Coatings Industry: Exposure Pathways and Assessment Approaches

Abstract

The rapid integration of engineered nanomaterials into paints and coatings has substantially improved product performance. However, this technological advancement introduces significant and incompletely characterized occupational health risks for workers in this industry engaged with nanomaterial synthesis, formulation, spray application, sanding, and maintenance operations. This review critically evaluates the occupational health risks associated with nanomaterial exposure in the paints and coatings industry, their exposure pathways, adverse health effects, and the current state of risk assessment frameworks. Inhalation is identified as the dominant occupational exposure route, with spray application and powder handling generating the highest near-field airborne nanoparticle concentrations, in some cases exceeding recommended occupational exposure limits, and dermal contact represents a secondary pathway. The state of exposure risk assessment in the industry and comparison of the existing frameworks reveal no validation against empirical exposure data from the paints and coatings environment, the absence of harmonized occupational exposure limits for most engineered nanomaterials, and the persistent inconsistencies across the control banding tools most widely used in practice. This review identifies three priority research directions for the field: 1. Establishing health-based occupational exposure limits for the nanomaterials most commonly used in coatings, 2. Resolving the aerosol metric debate to enable cross-study comparability of exposure data, and 3. Developing and validating quantitative risk models specifically calibrated to the aerosol dynamics and mixture exposure conditions of industrial coating operations.