German agencies preparing joint research strategy on nanotech health and environmental risks

Filed in archive Regulation on November 18, 2006

This week I was asked to review a draft of the joint research strategy being developed by the German BAuA (Federal Institute for Occupational safety and Health), UBA (Federal Environment Agency), and BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) that addresses the health and environmental risks of engineered nanoparticles.

I can't reveal details of the strategy since it's still in draft form, but I can share with you that it's very impressive in its scope, especially when you consider that the US government has yet to formulate anything like it.

It also very clearly spells out the need for a comprehensive research strategy on the health and environmental risks of engineered nanoparticles. For example: "So far no findings have been reported about how organic nanomaterials are degraded in the environment," and yet, "Particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises shortcomings have been observed when it comes to their implementation regarding the handling of chemicals," and, "In 2005, nanoparticles and ultrafine particles were already appraised to be the most important emerging risk for occupational safety in an EU expert survey."

The goals of the project are both ambitious and explicit:

"The goal of this research strategy is to structure research activities, to develop particle measurements (metrology), to collect information on toxicological and ecotoxicological effects, to promote the development of a sophisticated risk-related test strategy and assessment strategy, to identify the existing elements of a test strategy, to place substances of special importance into the focus of assessment and, particularly, to guarantee the suitability of data collected with publicly funded research for regulatory questions (e.g. limit values, classifications, handling recommendations)."

I'll let you know when the final report becomes available, and let's hope the US can organize a similarly focuses nanotech health and safety research strategy in the not-too-distant future.