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Of Special Interest

• Michael Riediker, a member of the GoodNanoGuide Implementation Committee, is a coauthor on a paper published December 10, 2010 in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology titled Management of Nanomaterials Safety in Research Environment. The paper "presents a practical, 'user-friendly' procedure for a university-wide safety and health management of nanomaterials, developed as a multi-stakeholder effort" and is open access so that it can be freely downloaded at the link provided.<br /> <br />
• US Occupational Safety and Health Administration awards funding for the development of training materials in nanomaterials and occupational health for safety professionals in small-to-medium sized companies. The project will be administered by Rice University in cooperation with partners from academia, a labor union, government researchers and others. <br /> <br />
• An ICON Blog postprovides a link to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recent Public Health Grand Rounds event "Preventing Adverse Health Effects from Nanotechnology", at which the ICON Director participated as a speaker. The whole 70-minute webinar can be viewed and downloaded. The blog post includes some discussion about the event. <br /> <br />
• The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in Switzerland has recently revised/updated the "Precautionary Matrix for Synthetic Nanomaterials"based on user's experience (introduced in December 2008). The Precautionary matrix for synthetic nanomaterials makes it possible for trade and industry to adopt a structured approach to recognising the possible risks in dealing with synthetic nanomaterials.

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• Nanomaterials "Just Out of REACH" of European Regulations (The Center for International Environmental Law)
  REACH, the European Union&apos;s primary regulation on chemicals is failing to identify or control nanomaterials. That is the conclusion of "Just Out of REACH: How REACH is failing to regulate nanomaterials and how it can be fixed," a new report by the nonprofit Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
• Sourcing Framework for Food and Food Packaging Products Containing Nanomaterials (As You Sow)
  As You Sow&apos;s first-of-its-kind framework is designed to help food companies make informed decisions regarding sourcing products containing nanomaterials.
• The complexity of public engagement (Nature Nanotechnology - Correspondence)
  Nanotechnology has been the subject of a large number of public engagement exercises over the past decade, but all this activity has had little impact on government policy formulation because governments tend to favour their own forms of engagement.
• Early study suggests nanodiamonds safe for implants (Univ. of Alabama - Birmingham)
  Nanodiamonds designed to toughen artificial joints also might prevent the inflammation caused when hardworking metal joints shed debris into the body, according to an early study published this week in the journal Acta Biomaterialia.
• The Limits of Nanotechnology (Food & Water Watch)
  An opinion piece prepared by the organization Food & Water Watch that comments on the report issued by the Natioal Research Council identifying major gaps in environmental, health and safety research of nanomaterials. The report underlines the need for more and better science on how to monitor and test the safety of these materials. What is also needed, according to Food & Water Watch, are rules and regulations to protect consumers from these risks.
• Tackling 21st-Century Tech Risks (Huff Post Tech)
  With some exceptions, the idea of managing risks proactively and proportionately, let alone embracing the precautionary principle, hasn&apos;t caught on here as it has in Europe. In the U.S., technological risk management has been seen as too much government intrusion that threatens innovation. Instead, as Harvard&apos;s Sheila Jasanoff has observed, the American approach has been to "normalize" new technologies like certain genetic manipulations as merely extensions of what already happens in nature.
• Opinion: No Objections to Nano? (The Scientist)
  While biotechnology has met with mixed public reactions, to date nanotechnology seems to invoke much less public concern. Despite emerging evidence of potential toxicity to human health and the environment from some forms of nanotechnology under some circumstances, not much popular alarm has arisen.
• Lastest updates from the NanoRelease project (Nanowerk News)
  As the applications of nanotechnologies continue to rapidly expand into a wide variety of industries, it is critical to consider any potential effects on human and environmental health. The NanoRelease project was initiated to assure that we have methods for the starting component of any evaluation of risk - which is measuring the amount that is actually released when a product is used.

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