Nanotechnology

Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research: Filling the Knowledge Gaps

II. Inputs

2.1 Congressional Mandate

In the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act, Public Law 91-596) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (FMSH Act, Public Law 95-164), Congress declared that its purpose was to assure, insofar as possible, safe and healthful working conditions for every working man and woman to preserve our human resources. In these Acts, NIOSH is given the responsibility for recommending occupational safety and health standards and describing exposures that are safe for various periods of employment. These include (but are not limited to) the exposures at which no worker will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life expectancy as a result of his or her work experience. By means of criteria documents and other publications, NIOSH communicates these recommended standards to regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and others in the occupational safety and health community. Occupational safety and health research for the mining industry was part of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Department of the Interior) until 1996 when those functions were transferred to NIOSH as the Office for Mine Safety and Health Research.

Under the OSH Act, NIOSH is charged with conducting “research, experiments, and demonstrations relating to occupational safety and health” and with developing “innovative methods, techniques, and approaches for dealing with [those] problems.” The Act specifies target areas of research that include identifying criteria for setting worker exposure standards and exploring problems created by new technology in the workplace. In an amendment to the Act, NIOSH was given responsibility for conducting training and education “to provide an adequate supply of qualified personnel to carry out the purposes of the Act” and for assisting employers and workers with applying methods to prevent occupational injuries and illness (Section 21 of the Act).

2.2 Stakeholders’ Input

As it follows from the OSH Act and the FMSH Act, the major stakeholders of NIOSH are the U.S. government (especially OSHA and MSHA), workers, employers, occupational safety and health practitioners and researchers, and the general public. NIOSH receives input through formal committees such as the NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors, the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, and the Mine Safety and Health Research Advisory Committee and through ad hoc mechanisms such as the NIOSH Web site (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh), the NIOSH toll-free telephone line (1-800-CDC-INFO), personal contacts with occupational safety and health professionals, and participation in professional conferences and interagency committees. NIOSH also provides stewardship of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora ) which is a framework to guide occupational safety and health research into the new millennium—not only for NIOSH but for the entire occupational safety and health community.

The importance of Occupational Safety and Health issues to nanotechnology has been emphasized by the interagency working group on Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI), under the NSET Subcommittee. NIOSH was formally invited to join the NEHI in 2004, and this interagency effort has consistently encouraged NIOSH to recognize nanotechnology as one of its research priorities.

The importance of research on the occupational safety and health issues for nanotechnology was further stressed at the National Academies Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative held on March 24–25, 2005. Richard Denison (Environmental Defense) and Carol Henry (American Chemistry Council), in their presentations to the National Academies review panel, called for an increase in federal funding of 10%, or $100 million, to address the environmental, safety, and health issues of the nanotechnology industries. These calls were further reiterated in a statement by Fred Krupp (President, Environmental Defense) and Chad Holliday (Chairman and CEO, DuPont) which was published in the June 14, 2005, issue of the Wall Street Journal: “An early and open examination of the potential risks of a new product or technology is not just good sense—it’s good business strategy. . . . [G]overnment spending on nanotechnology should be reprioritized so that approximately 10% goes to [health and environmental risk].” E. Floyd Kvamme (Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology), who was charged with guiding the NNI, stated in the June 24, 2005, issue of the Wall Street Journal that findings “indicated that the primary area for immediate concern is in the workplace, where nanomaterials are being used or manufactured and where there is the greatest likelihood for exposures.”

Recognizing the importance of this research area and of interagency collaboration, John Marburger (Director of the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy) and Joshua Bolten (Director of the Office of Management and Budget) instructed the federal government “to ensure that nanotechnology research leads to the responsible development of beneficial applications, high priority should be given to research on societal implications, human health, and environmental issues related to nanotechnology, and to develop, where applicable, cross-agency approaches to the funding and execution of this research” (July 8, 2005 memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies).

The NEHI working group 2006 publication Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials and the NNI 2008 Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health and Safety Research identified five priority environmental health and safety research needs: (1) instrumentation, metrology, and analytical methods, (2) nanomaterials and human health, (3) nanomaterials and the environment, (4) health and environmental exposure assessment, and (5) risk management methods (Appendix F). The NIOSH NTRC goals are reflective of these five priority environmental health and safety areas.

2.3 NIOSH Research Capabilities

The first-class research capability of NIOSH is an integral part of management’s inputs to the nanotechnology program. Within its divisions, NIOSH has world renowned researchers who are trained and experienced in the full spectrum of necessary disciplines ranging from epidemiology to intervention effectiveness. Sections 3 and 5 of this document describe current NIOSH research activities including publications on nanomaterials and NIOSH-sponsored meetings and conferences. In addition to their highly qualified research staff, NIOSH has significant laboratory capabilities in particle measurement, collection and characterization, particle surface analysis, measurement of particle surface radicals and activity, and in vitro and in vivo analysis of toxicity and pathogenesis. These laboratories are located in Spokane, Washington; Cincinnati, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Morgantown, West Virginia. NIOSH researchers work closely with a broad range of scientists from industry, academia, and other government agencies. NIOSH involvement in national and international initiatives and programs is an important component of its capacity to address critical occupational safety and health issues in nanotechnology.

2.4 NIOSH Partnerships

NIOSH recognizes both the practical need and the leadership obligation to extend its internal capability by leveraging activities and expertise found in other research institutions, industries, federal agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. These partnerships serve to deliver on multiple objectives; most importantly, they add to the body of knowledge on workplace health and safety issues associated with nanotechnology. Partnerships have taken several forms, ranging from formal letters or memoranda of understanding to informal working agreements on a specific topic. NIOSH will continue to pursue partnerships as a means of achieving the goals of this strategic research plan and as an effective vehicle to develop and disseminate research results that can be translated into practice that will lead to the positive impact of helping nanotechnology move forward responsibly.

NIOSH has successfully used partnerships with industry specific to nonmaterial production, to gain a better understanding of actual workplace exposures, practices, and controls that are in place. The field work that is conducted by NIOSH to assess exposures to engineered nanoparticles represents ongoing partnerships with numerous companies. NIOSH will continue to develop these partnerships in order to receive input on accomplishing its objectives of developing recommendations for the safe handling of nanoparticles; developing methods to measure exposures to nanoparticles; evaluating controls that are, or could be, used in nanomaterial processes; evaluating the need for and the effectiveness of PPEs including respiratory protection; and developing communication and information materials that will assist industry in communicating with workers and the public. Several of the industrial partnerships NIOSH has developed have provided opportunities from the beginning of the nanotechnology program to identify areas where additional research was needed.

Collaboration with other research institutes, academia, and government provides NIOSH the opportunity to combine its expertise in workplace health and safety with the capabilities of other organizations that are investigating a specific element of the research that is needed. Developing working relationships with other research institutes provides NIOSH with the information needed to guide its own research and focus its limited resources in the most effective manner. NIOSH has developed partnerships in the areas of toxicology, risk assessment modeling, exposure measurement methods, control technologies, filtration of nanoparticles, and communication of research results and safe work practices.

NIOSH broadens its activities with a wide variety of collaborators and stakeholders by its participation in a number of national and international committees and working groups. This participation provides NIOSH the opportunity to provide and receive input on the key research that is needed to address priority areas.

Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research:
I. Introduction	III. Activities
Page last modified: March 4, 2008 Page last reviewed: March 4, 2008 Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)