NNI’s progress review on ‘Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy’

Document describes extensive collaboration and coordination among Federal agencies

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) released today a Progress Review on the Coordinated Implementation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative 2011 Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy, a document that demonstrates the wide range of research activities, accomplishments, and collaborations of Federal agencies working toward the responsible development of nanotechnology.

This document is a result of efforts by the Federal agencies participating in the Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group. NEHI is a Working Group of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), a cabinet-level interagency council that coordinates science and technology policy across the Federal Government.

As described in the document, coordination of research across NEHI participating agencies from FY 2009-FY 2012 has enabled significant progress towards:

• Development of measurement tools that consider the full life cycles of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs)
• Collection of exposure assessment data and resources for workplace exposure control strategies
• Enhanced understanding of interactions between ENMs and biological systems
• Improved assessment of transport and transformations of ENMs
• Development of principles for establishing robust risk assessment and risk management practices for ENMs and nanotechnology-enabled products
• Improved approaches for identifying, characterizing, and communicating risks to all stakeholders
• Coordination of efforts to enhance data quality, modeling, and simulation capabilities for nanotechnology