$100 Million Recommended for Nanotech Risk Research

WASHINGTON, DC, January 5, 2007 (ENS) - "Prioritizing nanotechnology risk
research isn't rocket science," said Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
chief scientist Andrew Maynard testifying Wednesday before the federal
government's first public meeting on research needs and priorities for the
environmental, health and safety risks of engineered nanoscale materials.
Maynard proposes that the federal government invest a minimum of $100
million over the next two years in targeted risk research "in order to lay a
strong, science-based foundation for safe nanotechnology."

"The specific health and safety questions that are important to be addressed
for nanotechnology are reasonably straightforward," Maynard said. "And a lot
already has been published about what we know and do not know about the
potential risks and about how to fill existing research gaps."
Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture
things usually between one and 100 nanometers.

A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; a human hair is roughly 100,000
nanometers wide.
More than $32 billion in products containing nano-materials were sold
globally in 2005.
By 2014, the market intelligence firm Lux Research projects that $2.6
trillion in manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology.

Maynard says the federal government should take action in three critical
areas - documenting what relevant risk research exists, ensuring that
agencies responsible for oversight and related research are funded, and
developing a "top-down research plan."
Relevant agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug
Administration, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.

During his presentation Maynard mixed a powdered nano calcium and magnesium
dietary supplement into a glass of water to help illustrate key risk
research questions the federal government needs to tackle - what effect do
airborne nanoparticles have on the lungs, do nanoparticles penetrate the
skin, what happens to nanoparticles in water, how do they behave in the
gastrointestinal tract, and what happens to nanoparticles when they are
poured down a drain and enter the waste stream?
Despite investing more than $1 billion annually on nanotechnology research,
U.S. government spending on nanotechnology risk research is only $11 million
per year.

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is an initiative launched by the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable
Trusts in 2005 to help business, government and the public anticipate and
manage health and environmental implications of nanotechnology. For more
information about the project, log on to http://www.nanotechproject.org.

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SOURCE: ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: January 5, 2007 |

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2007/2007-01-05-09.asp#anchor2