Nanotechnology

Partnerships & Collaborations

Integral to completing this research are the partnerships and collaborations NIOSH has forged with countries, academia, industry, labor, other government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. These collaborations have provided expertise and resources critical for successfully completing research and for developing and disseminating health and safety information on engineered nanoparticles. The following are some of the ongoing NIOSH partnerships and collaborations in nanotechnology research:

Universities

• The Ohio State University, evaluating workplaces, controls, and practices in the nanocomposites industry
• University of Cincinnati, translating nanotechnology research into occupational and environmental health and safety activities
• University of Dayton Research Institute, understanding and improving the control of carbon nanotubes
• University of Iowa, measuring airborne concentrations of ultrafine particles
• University of Nevada at Reno (with Altair Nano), understanding and improving the control of ultrafine metal oxides and engineered nanomaterials
• University of Massachusetts at Lowell, collaborating on the development of good practices for handling nanomaterials in research laboratories and developing exposure assessment methods
• University of Minnesota, measuring airborne concentrations of ultrafine particles
• University of Montana, evaluating the toxicity of nanowires
• University of Montreal, assessing and characterizing nanoparticles in the workplace
• University of Pittsburgh, evaluating the toxicity of nanomaterials
• University of Rochester, measuring the ability of nanoparticles to generate radical species
• University of Wisconsin, Madison, developing exposure assessment strategies and characterizing nanoparticles in friction stir welding and micromachining
• Virginia Tech University (with Luna Nano Works), understanding and improving the control of fullerines and other engineered nanoparticles
• West Virginia University Nanotechnology Center, evaluating the toxicity of metal oxide nanowires
• West Virginia University Medical School, evaluating the effects of pulmonary exposure to nanoparticles, including the influence of exposure to titanium dioxide (TiO2) on systemic microvascular function

Safety and Health Organizations and Expert Groups

• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), participating on working group activities and information exchange and dissemination for nanoparticle characterization and control
• American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
• American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
• Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, modifying software for use in lung dosimetry modeling
• Health Physics Society (HPS), participating in working group activities and information exchange and dissemination for nanoparticle characterization and control
• International Safety Equipment Association, collaborating on the respirator filter media work being conducted at the University of Minnesota to assess the filtration efficiency against nanoparticles
• International Alliance for Nanotoxicology Harmonization (IAHN), establishing protocols for reproducible toxicological testing of nanomaterials in both cell cultures and animals
• National Safety Council (NSC)
• The initiative on Minimum Information Needed for Characterization of Nanomaterials (MINChar), on encouraging adoption of a minimum set of physical and chemical material characterization parameters in nanotoxicology studies
• Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Edinburgh, Scotland, revising rat lung dosimetry models to account for particle size-specific clearance and retention.

Federal and Other Government Agencies

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), evaluating the effectiveness of workplace control measures
• Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), evaluating the toxicity of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)
• U.S. Air Force
• U.S. Army
• Department of Energy (DOE)
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/ National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense on nanotoxicology
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), evaluating the toxicity of nanoparticles and developing nanoscale reference materials
• National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) through active participation in NNI’s strategic and budget planning processes, and coordination of research into occupational safety and health of nanotechnology with other government agencies
• National Toxicology Program, participating in the conduct of field assessments and toxicological research
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory, evaluating the pulmonary toxicity of nanoparticles
• Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauve en Sante et en Securite du Travail (IRSST), exchanging information on approaches to safe nanotechnology
• Karolinska Institute, evaluating the effect of nanomaterials on immune cells
• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, exchanging information on emerging application and health and safety issues for nanotechnology in the nuclear arena
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), collaborating on exposure measurement and exposure mitigation
• International Labour Organization (ILO), developing information on nanotechnology for a revised edition of the Encylopaedia of Occupaitonal Health and Safety
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), developing international standards for terminology, characterization, and safety practices for nanotechnology

Nanotechnology Industries

• DuPont and the Nanoparticle Occupational Safety and Health industry consortium on issues related to the measurement of nanoparticles and the efficiency of filtration materials for engineered nanoparticles
• Mitsui Co. Inc., evaluating the bioactivity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs).
• IBM, evaluating the bioactivity of silicon nanowires
• Luna Nano Works, understanding and improving the control of fullerines and other engineered nanoparticles
• Altair Nano, understanding and improving the control of ultrafine metal oxides and engineered nanomaterials
• Quantum Sphere, understanding and improving the control of nanoscale
• QD Vision, understanding and improving the control of quantum dots
• NanoMech LLC (Fayetteville, Arkansas), collaborating on a proposed EPA phase I SBIR project related to containment of airborne nanoparticles

Collaborative Workshops

• In FY 2005, NIOSH cosponsored the first Symposium on Occupational Health Implications of Nanomaterials in Buxton, United Kingdom
• In FY 2006, NIOSH cosponsored the second Symposium on Occupational Health Implications of Nanomaterials in Minneapolis, MN.
• In 2007,
  • NIOSH collaborated with the International Aerosol Research Assembly and the American Association for Aerosol Research to hold the Second International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Occupational Health in conjunction with the international aerosol conference in St. Paul, MN.
  • NIOSH and the University of Cincinnati cosponsored the International Conference on Nanotechnology Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety: Research to Practice, in Cincinnati, OH.
  • NIOSH convened a collaborative workshop that included 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.
  • NIOSH cosponsored the Third Symposium on Occupational Health Implications of Nanomaterials in Taipei, Taiwan.
• In 2008,
  • NIOSH co-sponsored a National Institute of Standards and Technology Workshop on Enabling Standards for Nanomaterial Characterization in Gaithersburg, MD.
  • NIOSH co-sponsored The Second International Conference on Nanotechnology in Zurich, Switzerland
  • NIOSH co-sponsored the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development workshop on Exposure Assessment and Exposure Mitigation in Frankfurt, Germany.
• In 2009,
  • NIOSH served as the agency lead for the National Nanotechnology Initiative Workshop on Human and Environmental Exposure Assessment in Bethesda, MD.
  • NIOSH co-sponsored the Fourth International Conference on Nanotechnology—Occupational and Environmental Health planned in Helsinki, Finland

Opportunities for Partnerships

Research laboratories, producers and manufacturers working with engineered nanomaterials (1 to 100 nm) who are interested in participating in a cost-free, on-site assessment can click here for more information.

NIOSH Office of Extramural Programs