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Have you ever noticed how many chemicals shape people’s daily lives? They keep homes sparkling clean, boost food production, and are included in virtually all manufactured goods surrounding you right now. Chemicals drive the economy but as we produce more than ever before, they have to deliver their benefits without damaging our health and environment.Toxic lead paint for example is still used in many regions of the world and Highly hazardous pesticides continue to poison agricultural workers and contaminate the

We live in a chemical world. Almost everything we touch contains chemicals.

NanotechnologyNanotechnology from UN Environment on Vimeo.

The production and use of nanoparticles leads to the emission of manufactured or engineered nanoparticles into the environment. Those particles undergo many possible reactions and interactions in the environment they are exposed to. These reactions and the resulting behavior and fate of nanoparticles in the environment have been studied for decades through naturally occurring nanoparticulate (1-100 nm) and colloidal (1-1000 nm) substances. The knowledge gained from these investigations is nowhere near sufficiently complete to create a detailed model of the

The present review covers developments in studies of nanomaterials (NMs) in the environment since our much cited review in 2008. We discuss novel insights into fate and behavior, metrology, transformations, bioavailability, toxicity mechanisms, and environmental impacts, with a focus on terrestrial and aquatic systems. Overall, the findings were that: 1) despite substantial developments, critical gaps remain, in large part due to the lack of analytical, modeling, and field capabilities, and also due to the breadth and complexity of the area