Sep 21 2013
The National Research Council (NRC) has released a detailed and thoughtful report, “Research Progress on Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials.”
The report highlights significant progress in the state of the science, including the “development of methods for detecting, characterizing, tracking, and monitoring nanomaterials” and the creation of a new Nanotechnology Signature Initiative, the Nanotechnology Knowledge Infrastructure. It also concludes that the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and its member agencies have made considerable progress toward increased collaboration in EHS research, including issuance of its 2011 EHS research strategy. While the report suggests a change in the management structure of the NNI, the NNCO and NNI member agencies believe that the current federated system under the National Science and Technology Council—with active guidance from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Emerging Technologies Interagency Policy Coordination Committee—offers the optimal level of integration and coordination among participating agencies and their mission-specific activities. We thank the NRC for working closely with us to ensure a robust and meaningful environmental, health, and safety research enterprise.
Source: http://www.nano.gov/