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as well. "
The
NanoStreeM
project
(Nanomaterials:
strategies
for
safety assessments in advanced
integrated circuits manufacturing)
receives funding from the European
Union's Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation Programme under grant
agreement n° 688794.
Imec collaborates in many projects
(EU, ESA and IWT) on which we work
in close collaboration with industrial
and academic partners. On our
website, you can view the projects
that are currently running. You can
browse this information by research
domain. And on April 30, 2076,
imec participates in Europe Day
(Dutch website), where we will put
some of our European projects in the
spotlight.
Fig 2: (Middle, left) Dimiter Prodanov, project coordinator, and (middle,
right) Alain Pardon, Safety, Environmental & Health Manager atimec, at
the kick-off meeting of the NanoStreeM project on January 28, 2016, at
Imec
good practices, the NanoStreeM
project will contribute to improve the
awareness and safety of the workers
in semiconductor fabs, and minimize
the impact on the environment. We
will come up with recommendations
concerning the use of nanomaterials
in semiconductor processing. We
will also set up comprehensive
training and communication efforts."
But the project will also enable the
semiconductor industry to share and
benchmark its
approach with other sectors that
face similar challenges, such as the
pharmaceutical industry, the paint
industry etc. Dimiter Prodanov:
"The semiconductor industry is an
advanced industry that is well aware
of its duties and responsibilities. We
have a very safety aware culture,
resulting in a very tight process
control. And this is an attitude that
can be transferred to other industries
starts with grouping different
nanomaterials into categories. We
have 3 categories of supposed
increasing hazard, and we have 3
categories of increasing likely hood of
exposure. That makes a matrix of 9
categories, and all steps in a process
can be categorized in this way. For
each of the categories, we prescribe
different safety measures. For
example, when we know that there
is a nanomaterial, but exposure is
unlikely, the measure can be limited
to post signing and labeling.
For another category, we will
prescribe the use of directed
ventilation, or ,when needed, the use
of a full breathing apparatus.
As part of the NanoStreeM project,
we will compare the various risk
banding approaches that are being
used within the industry. We will
share best practices and make
recommendations for improvement."
Imec, besides coordinating the
project, will share experience in this
risk assessment, and will participate
in the mapping exercise for future
materials.
Outcome of the project
The European Union has taken
concerted efforts to understand and
promote nanotechnology, but also
to address public concerns. Dimiter
Prodanov: "With this Horizon 2020
project, we answered a call which
was opened last year for support
action in the area of ICT, and which
aims
to look into the use and
characterization of nanomaterials.
By comparing various approaches
to risk assessment and sharing
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