NIOSH is the leading federal agency conducting research and providing guidance on the occupational safety and health implications and applications of nanotechnology. This research focuses NIOSH’s scientific expertise, and its efforts, on answering the questions that are essential to understanding these implications and applications:
Nanotechnology Spotlights:
Mark Your Calendar: Exposure Assessment Workshop
NIOSH is co-sponsoring a workshop on human and environmental exposure assessment of nanomaterials on February 24-25 in Bethesda, Md. The workshop will provide an open forum for communication about progress achieved under the National Nanotechnology Initiative's Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research, and about the path forward for addressing research needs in this category. http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/exposure/index.html
John Howard to Participate in February Conference on Nanotech Law, Regulation, and Policy
John Howard, Distinguished Consultant to the Director of CDC and former director of NIOSH, is scheduled to address occupational safety and health aspects of nanotechnology at a Feb. 18-19, 2009, conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Food and Drug Law Institute. http://www.fdli.org/conf/454/index.html.
NIOSH Guidance Document Serves as a Model For and Is Heavily Cited in New ISO Technical Report
Technical leadership and contribution by NIOSH were noted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in its release Jan. 7 of a new technical report, "ISO/TR 12885:2008, "Health and safety practices in occupational settings relevant to nanotechnologies." The initial outline of the report was prepared using NIOSH's web-based document of findings and interim recommendations, "Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology," the report said. http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1191.
EPA Stewardship Report Acknowledges 'Approaches' as a Primary Resource
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program Interim Report," issued January 12, cites NIOSH's "Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology" as a "primary resource" and states that EPA "continues to consult with NIOSH, especially regarding risk management practices for new chemical nanoscale materials." http://epa.gov/oppt/nano/stewardship.htm
Critical Questions for Occupational Health Noted in Journal Article
Critical questions for sharpening the focus on occupational safety and health in nanotechnology are identified by NIOSH and Finnish researchers in a discussion paper published on-line on November 20 by the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health. The questions address the hazard classification of engineered nanoparticles, exposure metrics, actual exposures to different engineered nanoparticles in the workplace, the limits of engineering controls and personal protective equipment with respect to engineered nanoparticles, the kinds of health and hazard surveillance programs that may be required at workplaces, whether exposure registers should be established for workers potentially exposed to engineered nanoparticles, and whether engineered nanoparticles should be treated as "new" substances and evaluated for potential hazards on that basis. Further information is available from the NIOSH lead author, Paul Schulte, Ph.D., at Pschulte@cdc.gov.
Dr. Vincent Castranova: Lifetime Scientific Achievement
Dr. Vincent Castranova is interviewed on podcast for "A Cup of Health," a feature of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Dr. Castranova, the chief of the Pathology and Physiology Research Branch of NIOSH's Health Effects Laboratory Division, received CDC's prestigious 2008 Charles C. Shepard Award for Lifetime Scientific Achievement. Dr. Castranova discusses his career in advanced research to prevent work-related respiratory diseases, and his current leadership in studies to determine if occupational exposures to nanomaterials pose unforeseen risks to human health.
Each topic provides a brief description of the research that NIOSH is conducting in the area of nanotechnology and the applications and implications of nanomaterials in the workplace.