Nanotech workplace safety survey
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
"Due in part to a lack of general information regarding nanomaterials risk, companies and labs have workers using conventional environmental, health and safety (EHS) practices when handling nanomaterials, even though practices were developed to deal with bulk materials that can have markedly different chemical properties than their nano-sized counterparts," the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) says after a Nov. 13 report. The 1report, produced by a research team from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the first comprehensive, international survey of EHS practices in the nanotech industry. The survey and report are the second phase of a two-part project to determine how industry is managing the occupational safety risks that may be posed by nanotech, ICON says. The first-phase 2report reviewed and analyzed existing efforts to develop best practices in the industry. The National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health will review the report "with great interest," Director John Howard said...