New Trends on Product Safety and Stewardship

September 16, 2026

In this issue of Trends, we provide several articles on the topic of product safety and stewardship – the practice of responsibly managing a product’s health and safety and environmental and regulatory impacts throughout all its life cycle stages – and the use of exposure and risk assessment to support that safety and stewardship practice.

Our first article discusses the importance of conducting proactive risk assessments for wearable electronic devices.  Our second article explores the potential for small particles to enter the brain through the nose-to-brain pathway.  Our third article examines potential sources of air emissions and health risks associated with a battery energy storage system (BESS) and ways they are being evaluated and mitigated.  Our fourth article looks at methods for identifying and managing nitrosamines in consumer products.

Gradient contributors to this Trends issue include Drs. Nicholas Drury, Peter Andrew, and Steven Boomhower, ERT, ATS; Seth Larch; Christopher DesAutels, M.S.; Charlotte Marsh, M.S., CPPS, DABT; and Pranav Mashankar, M.S.

Articles:

• Risk Assessments of Wearable Electronic Devices
• Can What You Breathe Reach Your Brain? Exploring the Nose-to-Brain Pathway
• Modeling and Emissions Quantification to Understand Potential Risks from Battery Energy Storage Systems
• From Ingredients to Impurities: Assessing and Managing Nitrosamine Risk in Consumer Products
• What’s New at Gradient