The symposia will highlight practical approaches for risk prevention and safety management in laboratories and production sites using nanomaterials, on the basis of a Safe by Design (SbD) approach, integrating safety since the early stages of product and process development. SbD is a cornerstone of current and future R&I policies in Europe for the development, production and use of chemicals, materials and products. As set in the recent EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, specific SbD and sustainability criteria will be developed and used to facilitate access of safe innovations to funding opportunities and to the market. Nanomaterials provide an exemplar of initial implementation of SbD.

The symposia will discuss approaches and experiences from research organizations and companies in implementing SbD in development and production processes of nanomaterials and nano-related products. Key questions addressed in the symposia will include: How to put SbD in practice in industrial processes? What do innovators need from the (safety) research community (i.e., data, guidelines, training, tools, etc.)? What tools may help innovators in the application of SbD procedures (i.e., designing, implementing, testing, regulations, etc.)? The symposia its open to both innovators and risk managers in research organizations, companies, institutions and other organizations active and interested on the safety and sustainability of nano-related products. Contributions will be given by the EU projects SbD4Nano, ASINA, SAbyNA, SABYDOMA and Gov4Nano.