The U.S. government’s plan for research on the potential health and environmental risks posed by nanomaterials has "serious weaknesses" according to a new report by the National Research Council (NRC).
Nanomaterials are increasingly being used in consumer goods and industry, and an effective national plan for identifying and managing potential risks is essential to the successful development and public acceptance of nanotechnology, a committee of experts said.
The research plan, developed by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, does not provide a clear picture of the current understanding of potential risks or where it should be in 10 years, says the new report. Nor does the NNI plan include research goals to help ensure that nanotechnologies are developed and used as safely as possible.
A new national strategic plan is needed that goes beyond federal research to incorporate research from academia, industry, consumer and environmental groups, and other stakeholders, the NRC committee concluded.
Nanoscale engineering manipulates materials at the molecular and atomic level to create structures with unique and useful properties–materials that are both very strong and very light, for example. More than 600 products involving nanomaterials are already on the market, the majority of them health and fitness products, such as skin care and cosmetics. And over the next decade, nanomaterials will be used increasingly in products ranging from medical therapies to food additives to electronics.
Growing use of nanomaterials means that more workers and consumers will be exposed to them, and uncertainties remain about their health and environmental effects; while nanomaterials can yield special benefits, they may also have unexpected and possibly toxic properties. The National Nanotechnology Initiative, which coordinates federal agency investments in nanoscale R&D, developed a research plan to investigate these risks, and the office that oversees NNI asked the National Research Council to review the plan.
The NRC committee did not evaluate whether current uses of nanomaterials represent unreasonable risks to the public. Rather, the report focused on what would constitute an effective national research strategy for ensuring that current and future uses of nanomaterials are without significant impacts on human health or the environment.
A truly robust national strategic plan would involve a broader group of stakeholders, and would consider the untapped knowledge of nongovernment researchers and academics, the committee said.
Loading...