EC Announces Fourth Annual Nanotechnology Safety for Success Dialogue Workshop

The European Commission (EC) announced that it will hold the fourth annual Nanotechnology Safety for Success Dialogue Workshop on March 29-30, 2011, in Brussels, Belgium. According to the EC, many market modelers identify nanotechnologies as drivers of economic growth, and as a consequence, many governments have adopted ambitious plans intended to ensure the commercial success of nanotechnologies. At the same time, the number of potential and real applications is increasing rapidly.  The international community has organized itself to address the potential safety aspects of nanomaterials, in particular under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials, and with the support of national and European scientific advisory bodies like the EC Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR).  A number of regulatory developments have taken place while the science was also advancing.  The EC is convening the Workshop to:

• Take stock of the fast advancing science needed for appropriate and effective policies; and
• Analyze how these advances allow progress with respect to intelligence gathering, risk assessment, risk management, and safe design.

Registration to participate on location or via web streaming is open until March 1, 2011.