Reliable risk communication on advanced materials safety - The DaNa4.0 Knowledge Base Materials

Worldwide, research on the safety and risks of advanced materials such as nanomaterials has been ongoing for more than 20 years. In times of social transformations, science has a special responsibility to provide evidence-based answers and solutions to the pressing issues of our time, such as climate change or digitalization. Today, the responsibilities of science also include communication, dialog with society, objectification of current debates, and education about the challenges and opportunities of new scientific developments.
In 2009, the online knowledge base on nanomaterials www.nanoobjects.info was initiated within the framework of the BMBF-funded project DaNa. Thus, scientific results on the safety of nanomaterials were communicated to the public in a value-neutral way at an early stage. In 2020, this information platform was expanded as part of the DaNa4.0 project to include advanced materials in order to make an understanding and awareness of safety-related data on these materials available to the public as early as possible. This so-called Knowledge Base Materials is providing safety-relevant information on 30 advanced materials, including nanomaterials. ... mehrThe project focuses on the effects on human health and the environment and, since 2023, on the sustainability of innovative materials. A continuously updated list of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and non-validated laboratory protocols from national and European research projects of different categories is available for download. A template for creating SOPs has been developed and can be downloaded too. A monthly spotlight research article on a recent scientific publication as well as numerous cross-cutting articles on topics such as advanced materials for environmental remediation or materials for 3D printing complement this knowledge base. In addition, social media channels (Twitter and LinkedIn) are used in order to achieve the widest possible reach for the dissemination of information.