NIOSH Offers Interim Guidance For Worker Medical Screening, Hazard Surveillance Pertaining To Engineered Nanoparticles

On February 13, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of “Current Intelligence Bulletin 60: Interim Guidance for the Medical Screening and Hazard Surveillance for Workers Potentially Exposed to Engineered Nanoparticles.” NIOSH offers the following recommendations for workplaces where workers may be exposed to engineered nanoparticles in the course of their work:

• Take prudent measures to control exposures to engineered nanoparticles;
• Conduct hazard surveillance as the basis for implementing controls; and
• Continue use of established medical surveillance approaches.

According to NIOSH, its recommendations respond to ongoing interest by employers and other stakeholders in having authoritative occupational safety and health guidance in the manufacturing and industrial use of engineered nanomaterials. NIOSH states that its recommendations also reflect its ongoing leadership in providing such interim scientific guidance as research progresses for determining whether engineered nanomaterials pose risks for adverse occupational health effects.