Critical thinking · SCIENCE EXPLAINER
Safe and sustainable by design.
Functionality, exposure and impact must be considered together.
The starting point
Hazard describes the capacity to cause harm; risk also depends on exposure. Size matters, but does not replace the study of composition, shape, coating, dose and exposure route.
What we know
Safe and sustainable design integrates safety and environmental impact criteria during technology development. It is neither an automatic label nor a guarantee without assessment.
Questions to ask
Ask who manufactures the material, who is exposed, what is released during use and what happens during recycling. When data are missing, uncertainty must be made visible without turning it into a claim of safety or harm.
Designing responsibly
Safer materials, production with reduced exposure and cleaner processes, and use and end-of-life options that support circularity. Ecodesign requires reliable data, multidisciplinary teams and governance.
Original Catalan infographic published in Divulcat · Jordi Díaz Marcos. Click the image to enlarge it.Explore further
Jordi Díaz Marcos · Sostenibilitat i nanotecnologia · Divulcat, 2026 ↗
Further reading: Libro Blanco de las Nanotecnologías (III), June 2025 pre-publication layout. Coordinators: Jordi Díaz Marcos, Joan Mendoza Gonzálvez and Pedro A. Serena Domingo.
