SAFENANO Team complete global review of health & safety research into nanomaterials
SAFENANO
‘EMERGNANO’ – the first global review of active research into the environment, health and safety risks of nanotechnology has been published today [14th April 2009] by Defra, the UK Government Department for Food & Rural Affairs.
The review, led by the SAFENANO initiative at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, UK provides a unique identification and analysis of research carried out worldwide on nanotechnology safety, including that relating to hazard, exposure, risk assessment & regulation.
EMERGNANO identified more than 670 projects from around the world, and after careful selection assessed more than 260 unique, relevant projects completed, close to completion or in progress since 2004. The final report provides a comprehensivelisting of projects, alongside detailed evaluation of their outputs. It also provides an assessment of the extent to which these projects contribute towards meeting the 18 Research Objectives (ROs) for nanotechnology risks laid out by the UK Nanotechnology Research Coordination Group (NRCG), and highlights the gaps still remaining.
SAFENANO Director Rob Aitken, who led the team appointed to produce EMERGNANO, said "EMERGNANO was a huge undertaking carried out in a very short timescale. It provides a snapshot of worldwide research in this area, both completed and in progress, together with a unique evaluation of the contribution that this research will make to the research objectives identified by Defra”.
In addition to mapping those projects identified against the 18 NRGC ROs, EMERGNANO provided a prospective appraisal on new data which may trigger further consideration of the need for regulation of nanomaterials; an assessment of the possibility of a qualitative risk assessment; and consideration of whether there is sufficient information to invoke the precautionary principle for one or more nanomaterials.
Whilst EMERGNANO highlights some of the key progress made to date within nanotechnology risk research, it is clear nonetheless that major gaps in the knowledge base still remain. “While incremental progress is being made in some areas, the programme of research activity has yet to deliver step changes in the knowledge base on these issues. Overall EMERGNANO highlights the need for a more strategic co-ordinated research agenda to be developed, funded and implemented” Aitken concluded.
‘EMERGNANO - a review of completed and near completed environment, health and safety research on nanomaterials and nanotechnology. DEFRA ProjectCB0409’ is available for free download from the IOM web site at...
http://www.iom-world.org/pubs/IOM_TM0901.pdf
For a more in-depth commentary on EMERGNANO’s background and outcomes, written by some of its authors, please click here:
http://www.safenano.org/EMERGNANOinDetail.aspx
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default