Thursday, November 20, 2008

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. USA (November 20, 2008) AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, announces that the potential hazards and benefits of nanotechnology are revealed in a newly published book co-authored by four AMEC scientists.

The hardcover Nanotechnology and the Environment, published by CRC Press, explores how nanoscale materials can behave differently in the human body and the environment and how the explosive use of such materials could impact human health and environmental quality.

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on the molecular level to produce extremely tiny particles. Industries and governments are aggressively investigating ways to use nanoscale materials to make products stronger, more useful, or better able to withstand high temperatures.

Given that the United Nations predicts nanotechnology will encompass 14% of the global manufacturing economy by 2014, the Nanotechnology and the Environment provides excellent insight and practical applications for this fast-growing technology. The book discusses frameworks for evaluating the balance between risk and reward as nanomaterials are manufactured, used and released to the environment. It also describes the development of regulations to manage those risks.

AMEC?s co-authors were senior environmental toxicologist Chris Mackay, Ph.D., senior chemist Marilyn Hoyt, environmental scientist and program manager Kim Henry and senior scientist Jan Hamblen.

The book?s chapter on chemical analysis of nanoparticles in the environment was written by Ms. Hoyt, who provides insight into the challenges involved in environmental analyses of these new materials. The section on environmental movement and final destination of nanomaterials, written by Dr. Mackay and Ms. Henry, provides practical applications for these unique materials to define concentrations for the determination of human and ecological toxicity.

Dr. Mackay and Ms. Hamblen teamed on the toxicology and risk assessment section, which characterizes the unique properties of nanomaterials that affect toxicity and provides calculations to determine exposure. Ms. Henry co-authored a chapter on the potential benefits and risks from use of nanotechnology. The book provides some protocols for life cycle assessment of nanomaterials.

The book?s research and preparation was funded by AMEC?s Earth & Environmental Division, through its Research and Development Program. That program annually funds projects that promote AMEC?s technical excellence to clients, regulatory agencies, and prospective employees. The book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers.

Contacts:

Brad Christensen: +1 602-432-1339; brad.christensen@amec.com

Lauren Gallagher: +1 602 757 3211; lauren.gallagher@amec.com

Notes to editors:

AMEC (LSE: AMEC) is a focused supplier of high-value consultancy, engineering and project management services to the world's energy, power and process industries. With annual revenues of over US$4 billion, AMEC designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex assets for its customers. AMEC's Natural Resources, Power and Process and Earth and Environmental businesses employ over 23,000 people in more than 30 countries globally. For further information please see http://www.amec.com/

AMEC?s Earth and Environmental division operates from 130 offices in the U.S., Canada and overseas. The business provides a broad range of environmental, geotechnical, water resources, infrastructure, materials testing, and project management services to public and private clients.