By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,Research,United StatesRegistration has opened for an August 20, 2018, webinar on “NanoEHS and Nanomedicine: Similarities and Synergisms.” The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) notes that there are many synergies between nanomedicine research, which addresses (among other topics) issues of efficacy and safety, and studies on the environmental, health, and safety effects of nanomaterials (nanoEHS), which include the… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesAs reported in our January 31, 2018, blog item, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances (TLV®-CS) Committee included carbon nanotubes on its 2018 list of chemical substances and other issues under study. Being placed on the under study list indicated that the TLV®-CS Committee had selected carbon… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesOn July 26, 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of a draft Current Intelligence Bulletin: NIOSH Practices in Occupational Risk Assessment. The draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) describes the underlying science and general approach used by NIOSH researchers when conducting high quality, scientifically sound assessments of the health… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesOn July 9, 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a one-page document on its Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC), which conducts research to understand the potential effects on human health of exposure to engineered nanomaterials and develops methods to control or eliminate exposures. NTRC’s accomplishments include: Publishing 101 journal articles in… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in International,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,ResearchThe 32nd Triennial Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) was held April 29 through May 4, 2018, in Dublin, Ireland. Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) has published the abstracts for the Congress online, including the following ones concerning nanomaterials: “Update of potential hazards of nanomaterials,” by PA Schulte, I Iavicoli; “Overview —… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,Research,United StatesThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice on April 24, 2018, announcing the availability of a draft research plan entitled Continuing to Protect the Nanotechnology Workforce: NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Plan for 2018-2025 for public comment. The draft Nanotechnology Research Plan presents the Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) strategic plan… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesEffective April 15, 2018, Chuck Geraci, Ph.D., CIH, will be the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Associate Director for Emerging Technologies. As Associate Director for Emerging Technologies, Dr. Geraci will be responsible for the planning, direction, and execution of emerging technology research activities at NIOSH, advising the NIOSH Director. Emerging technologies with… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesThe May 13-16, 2018, TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo will include a panel discussion on “Safety in Advanced Manufacturing: A Profit Maker or a Profit Taker?” as part of the advanced manufacturing symposium. The panel discussion, which will be held on May 16, 2018, will provide a forum to examine existing health and safety… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesOn March 15, 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of the draft National Occupational Research Agenda for Respiratory Health for public comment. The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) is a partnership program created to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. The draft NORA for Respiratory Health is… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesAs reported in our March 13, 2018, blog item, on March 9, 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published three documents in its Workplace Design Solutions series that address nanomaterials. On March 12, 2018, NIOSH announced the availability of the new Workplace Design Solutions documents, as well as a poster, “Controlling… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) began its Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative in 2007. NIOSH states that its mission is to reduce or prevent occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by considering hazard prevention in the design, re-design, and retrofit of new and existing workplaces, tools, equipment, and work processes. On March… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,Research,United StatesOn February 12, 2018, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted its Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Performance Report. According to the Report, in fiscal year (FY) 2017, CPSC exceeded its target of five collaborations by establishing seven research collaborations on the environmental health and safety of nanomaterials. The collaborations “will increase knowledge of the… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice on January 31, 2018, announcing the availability of the final National Occupational Research Agenda for Manufacturing. NIOSH states that the National Occupational Research Agenda for Manufacturing “is intended to identify the knowledge and actions most urgently needed to identify occupational risk… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesThe American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances (TLV®-CS) Committee has included carbon nanotubes on its 2018 list of chemical substances and other issues under study. Being placed on the under study list indicates that the TLV®-CS Committee has selected carbon nanotubes for development of a threshold limit value… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesCharles Geraci, PhD, CIH, FAIHA, Associate Director for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Laura Hodson, MSPH, CIH, FAIHA, Coordinator of the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center, co-authored an article entitled “From ‘Just in Time’ to ‘Just Next Door’: 21st-century Manufacturing Challenges and Opportunities for Industrial Hygienists.” … Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in International,Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety IssuesOn January 8, 2018, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) announced the availability of a research report on nanotechnology in construction and demolition, as well as guidance for industry. The aim of the research was to provide clarity regarding the current use of nanomaterials in the built environment and the potential benefits and… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in Federal,International,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,United StatesOn December 15, 2017, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a blog item entitled “WHO Guidelines to Protect Workers from Nanomaterials.” As reported in our December 13, 2017, blog item, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently published WHO Guidelines on Protecting Workers from Potential Risks of Manufactured Nanomaterials. NIOSH Director John… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in International,Occupational Health and Safety IssuesIn December 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published WHO Guidelines on Protecting Workers from Potential Risks of Manufactured Nanomaterials. WHO developed the Guidelines, which provide recommendations on how best to protect workers from the potential risks of manufactured nanomaterials (MNM). According to WHO, its recommendations are intended to help policy-makers and professionals in the… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in EU Member State,International,Occupational Health and Safety IssuesOn November 23, 2017, the French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (INRS) published a report summarizing studies and research completed in 2016 and in progress in 2017. According to the report, INRS action on manufactured nanomaterials has three objectives: (1) making knowledge on hazards available to the… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in International,Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety IssuesOn behalf of its project partner, the Institute of Occupational Medicine, NanoReg2 seeks information from organizations that manufacture, make, use, distribute, or dispose of nanomaterials. NanoReg2 states that, as part of the NanoReg2 Project, it is trying to find out what organizations know and understand about worker and end-user risk from nanomaterials and the concept… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in International,Occupational Health and Safety Issues,OECD,ResearchThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has posted an October 30, 2017, report entitled Strategies, Techniques and Sampling Protocols for Determining the Concentrations of Manufactured Nanomaterials in Air at the Workplace. The objective of the report is to contribute to existing knowledge regarding methods for measuring characteristics of airborne nanoparticles and controlling occupational… Continue Reading
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton on Posted in International,Legal/Regulatory Issues,Occupational Health and Safety IssuesThe European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) recently published a policy brief entitled “EU Observatory for Nanomaterials: a constructive view on future regulation.” The policy brief provides information about the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON), how it is being developed, its limitations, and “why it is not an ideal option.” According to the policy… Continue Reading
