New Partnership to Address Potential Nanotech-Related Safety Concerns

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Science Foundation Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) have announced a partnership to help companies identify and address potential health and safety concerns related to nanotechnology. NIOSH and CHN—a collaboration of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Northeastern University and the University of New Hampshire—will provide onsite evaluations and recommend solutions to small- to medium-sized companies and research laboratories across the country.

“There is an intense demand from industry to evaluate nanomaterial exposures and develop appropriate control strategies, practices, guidelines and medical surveillance,” stated CHN’s manager of environmental health and safety in a September 22, 2010, NIOSH press release. “Our team has conducted innovative research on nanomaterial toxicology, exposure and control that will help companies develop strategies to protect workers from the potential health effects of nanomaterials, thus paving the way for the commercialization of nano products.”