Nanotechnology

Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research: Filling the Knowledge Gaps

III. Activities

3.1 NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC)

NIOSH has established the NTRC and the NTRC Steering Committee.

Vision of the NTRC

The vision of the NTRC is as follows:

Safe nanotechnology by delivering on the Nation’s promise—safety and health at work for all people through research and prevention.

Mission of the NTRC

The mission of the NTRC is to provide national and world leadership for research into the implications of nanoparticles and nanomaterials for work-related injury and illness, and the application of nanoparticles and nanomaterials in occupational safety and health.

3.2 NTRC Steering Committee

The NTRC Steering Committee is responsible for guiding NIOSH scientific and organizational plans in nanotechnology research (including coordination for science and budget) and for developing strategic goals and objectives and performance measures for the NTRC. To ensure the responsiveness, relevance, and impact of NIOSH’s nanotechnology program, appropriate representatives of its nanotechnology research program meet in person on an annual basis to update strategic planning for nanotechnology research. At these meetings, the critical occupational safety and health issues arising from nanotechnology are reviewed and updated as appropriate. Regular updates and progress reporting is managed through weekly teleconferences conducted by the NTRC. In addition, meetings are held with appropriate stakeholders at least every other year.

3.3 Current NIOSH Intramural Nanotechnology Research Activities.

Current NIOSH research activities in nanotechnology are focused on occupational safety and health implications. NIOSH has expertise in developing control systems and prevention strategies for incidental nanoparticles (e.g., diesel exhaust, welding fume, smelter fume, and fire smoke particles). NIOSH is using this experience to address similar hazard, risk, and control issues for engineered nanoparticles. It appears that nanomaterials that are presently manufactured and subsequently introduced into products have no major physical features that would make them behave differently from fine or ultrafine particles in terms of the ability to control them in the workplace. However, the limits of this assumption need continued evaluation. Data from ongoing and proposed studies with engineered nanoparticles are being used to determine nanoparticle exposure concentrations in the workplace, hazards posed by nanomaterials, and the risk of adverse health effects from occupational exposures to nanomaterials. Studies are also providing data on the characteristics of nanomaterials produced and used in the workplace, routes of exposure, work practices, and engineering controls. Findings from these intramural studies are providing scientific data to support the development of occupational safety and health recommendations. The timeline for conducting these research activities with individual research projects is given in Appendix A.

3.4 Current NIOSH Extramural Nanotechnology Research Activities.

The NIOSH Office of Extramural Programs (OEP) manages the competitive process for awarding occupational safety and health grants and cooperative agreements to the research community outside the Institute. This process includes peer review, program relevance, and priorities from the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), the NIOSH r2p initiative, congressional mandates, and sector, cross-sector or coordinated emphasis areas of the NIOSH Program Portfolio (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs).

From 2001-2008 to date, the Office of Extramural Programs (OEP) has funded nanotechnology research through Occupational Safety and Health Research Program Announcements (R01) and Small Business Innovation Research Grants (R43/44). Since FY-05, OEP has also participated in two joint Requests for Applications (RFAs) for Nanotechnology Research Grants Investigating Environmental and Human Health Issues. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) participated in FY-05. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) joined in FY-06. Funding was available to support Research (R01) grants for three years and Exploratory (R21) grants for two years.

In FY-07, NIOSH/OEP participated in RFA-ES-06-008 Manufactured Nanomaterials: Physico-chemical Principles of Biocompatibility and Toxicity. This RFA was jointly sponsored by NIEHS, EPA and NIOSH.

In FY-08, nanotechnology related research proposals submitted to standing program announcements are being considered for funding by NIOSH/OEP.

To date, NIOSH/OEP has committed about $5.3 million dollars to research on applications and implications of nanotechnology. Summaries of the projects funded by NIOSH/OEP are included in Appendix D. NIOSH/OEP plans to continue collaborative efforts with EPA/NCER, NSF, NIH/NIEHS, and other international agencies to support nanotechnology research with occupational safety and health implications. OEP will continue to confer with the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center regarding issues, gaps, and future directions.

3.5 Collaborative Workshops

In FY05, NIOSH co-sponsored the 1^st International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Occupational Health in Buxton, United Kingdom, and in FY06, NIOSH co-sponsored the 2^nd International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Health in Minneapolis, MN. In FY07, NIOSH collaborated with the International Aerosol Research Assembly and the American Association for Aerosol Research to hold an International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Health in conjunction with the International Aerosol Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota. In FY07, NIOSH and the University of Cincinnati cosponsored the International Conference on Nanotechnology Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety: Research to Practice, in Cincinnati, OH. In FY07 NIOSH convened a collaborative workshop including representatives from government, academia, labor, and industry in Washington, DC, to review a draft document developed by NIOSH and a cross agency work group, titled “Interim Guidelines on Medical Screening of Workers Potentially Exposed to Engineered Nanoparticles.” In FY07 NIOSH cosponsored the 3rd International Symposium on Nanotechnology Safety & Health in Taipei, Taiwan. In FY08 NIOSH began to participate in the planning of the 4th International Congress on Nanotechnology Safety and Health planned for August 2009, in Helsinki, Finland.

Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research:
II. Inputs	VI. Goals
Page last modified: March 4, 2008 Page last reviewed: March 4, 2008 Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)