Nanotechnology

News & Events

This section includes information relating to the field of nanotechnology such as peer-reviewed journal articles, news articles, conferences, seminars, newsletters, proceedings, and presentations.  Check back periodically as this section will be updated as new items become available.

• Issues in Developing Worker Epidemiological Studies
  Scientists from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and a colleague from Emory University identify issues that researchers will need to consider in designing sound epidemiological studies of workers who may be exposed to engineered nanoparticles in the manufacturing and commercial use of nanomaterials. The issues are described and discussed in a paper published on-line, ahead of print, on Feb. 21, 2009 by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
  
  
• 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."
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Nano Issues Explored by Dr. Howard, Other Experts in Public TV Segment  
  In a new public television segment, former NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D., and other representatives from government, research, business, and health advocacy discuss issues relating to the health and safety implications of nanotechnology. The segment was broadcast on the August 12, 2008, edition of "QUEST," a science and nature series produced by KQED-TV, San Francisco. "Nanotechnology's future depends on how much investment we make in risk assessment and risk management now, in the first decade of the 21st Century," Dr. Howard states in an interview taped in May.
  
  
• NIOSH Informs, Leads Nanotechnology Actions by International Partner Organizations
  
  
• Ethical and Scientific Issues of Nanotechnology in the Workplace
  An article by Paul Schulte, Director, Education and Information Division, NIOSH, and Fabio Salamanca-Buentello, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Canadian Program on Genomics and Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives 2007, Jan; 115(1):5-12.