Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmenta, Health, and Safety Research
Abstract
The ability to control matter at the nanometer scale is leading to technological advances in many areas, including energy, medicine, and the environment. These advances are based on the fact that at the nanoscale, materials have different properties than in macroscopic or bulk form. The novel behavior of nanomaterials may also pose risks to human health and the environment. To better understand these potential risks, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which encompasses activities related to nanotechnology across the Federal Government, has included, as a critical, integrated component since its inception, research to understand potential risks associated with nanotechnology. NNI research on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) aspects of nanomaterials has increased steadily. Between fiscal year (FY) 2005, the first year for which estimates are available, and the President's request for 2009, the NNI will invest an estimated $254 million in research that is primarily aimed at understanding the risks posed by nanomaterials. This funding and corresponding effort to advance understanding of nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety issues is leveraged by a significant amount of additional investment in instrumentation, metrology, facilities, and fundamental materials research. This research and other NNI activities are coordinated by the Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group under the National Science and Technology Council's Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee. This document describes the NNI strategy for addressing priority research on the environment, health, and safety (EHS) aspects of nanomaterials that have been identified in previous reports. Establishing this strategy is the next step in an interagency effort that has been underway for a number of years.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA524366
Entities
Organizations
- Executive Office of the President of the United States