Ricerc@Sapienza

Widespread production and use of engineered nanomaterials in industrial and research settings raise concerns about their health impact in the workplace. In the last years, graphene-based nanomaterials have gained particular interest in many application fields. Among them, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) showed superior electrical, optical and thermal properties, low-cost and availability. Few and conflicting results have been reported about toxicity and potential effects on workers’ health, during the production and handling of these nanostructures.

Hexavalent Chromium species are classified as hazardous compounds due to their high toxic potential, considering also their remarkable solubility and redox potential. Various processes have been developed to remove/recover Cr(VI) species from polluted groundwater, such as membrane processes, ion-exchange and adsorption and chemical or biochemical reduction. Indeed, the reduction/removal process of Cr(VI) through iron-based materials usually leads to a pH increase of the reaction medium, allowing to facilitate the subsequent precipitation of the Cr(III) species.

In emergency, to produce safe water, that is “potable water free from harmful microorganisms and substances even if it may have colour, odour or taste problem due to dissolved minerals”, applied methods should be immediately available to treat contaminated water, to reach at least a microbiological pollution in terms of bacteria concentration is maximum 108 UFC/mL and a maximum concentration of As and COD are 0.1 mg/L and 20 mg/L, respectively.