Occupational Health, Safety and Regulatory Issues: Nanotechnology at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

NIOSH is the leading federal agency providing guidance and conducting research on the occupational safety and health implications and applications of nanotechnology.
Research focuses NIOSH’s scientific expertise, and its efforts, on answering the following central questions:
- How might workers be exposed to nanoparticles in the manufacturing or industrial use of nanomaterials?
- How do nanoparticles interact with the body’s systems?
- What effects might nanoparticles have on the body’s systems?

NIOSH contributes to nanotechnology research in the following ways:

NIOSH is at the forefront of U.S. research to understand the occupational health implications of nanomaterials.
NIOSH offers interim guidelines for working with nanomaterials, consistent with the best scientific knowledge.
NIOSH publishes new findings and recommendations as its research advances.
NIOSH recommends that an overall safety and health program for health care workers should include medical surveillance to ensure worker protection. NIOSH also recommends that a specific list of hazardous medicines used in the facility, including hazardous nanoparticles, be developed and a Universal precautions approach