Thursday, April 27, 2006
Tweet[IWS] RAND: NANOMATERIALS in the WORKPLACE [25 April 2006]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
RAND
Nanomaterials in the Workplace
Policy and Planning Workshop on Occupational Safety and Health [online 25 April 2006]
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF227/index.html
or
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/2006/RAND_CF227.pdf
[full-text, 50 pages]
By: James T. Bartis, Eric Landree
What are the challenges the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and related federal agencies face when allocating limited resources so that worker health and safety go hand in hand with innovation and technical progress? This was the central issue addressed at a workshop on nanotechnology and occupational safety and health hosted by the RAND Corporation on October 17, 2005. The workshop focused on policy and planning issues (as opposed to scientific issues) that are key to understanding the options available to NIOSH in formulating and implementing its strategic objectives to protect the safety and health of workers exposed to nanoscale materials. This document of the conference proceedings draws on discussions during the workshop and places the discussions within a policy framework for further consideration by NIOSH.
Contents
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Strategic Challenges
Chapter Three: Resources
Chapter Four: Toward Nanotechnology Workplace Safety
Appendix A: Workshop Participants
Appendix B: Agenda for Policy and Planning Workshop on Nanotechnology and Occupational Safety and Health
Press Release, April 25, 2006
RAND REPORT SAYS GREATER EFFORT NEEDED TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM HEALTH RISKS POSED BY NANOMATERIALS
http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/04.25.html
The U.S. government is providing insufficient funding and other resources to understand and manage risks that nanomaterials pose to the health of workers in the rapidly growing nanotechnology industry, according to participants in a workshop hosted by the RAND Corporation.
RAND today issued a < http://www.rand.org/news/press.06//pubs/conf_proceedings/CF227/> report on the October 2005 workshop that brought together nanotechnology and health experts and representatives from industry, insurance firms, labor unions, and occupational health and safety organizations.
Nanotechnology involves the study and manipulation of engineered materials down to the size of a nanometer one billionth of a meter, or about one one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair. Because of their extremely small size, these nanomaterials can take on unusual physical and chemical properties that allow novel uses, but at the same time can create new health risks.
Although based on substances scientists already understand, nanomaterials essentially are new substances that can have properties that are very different from the bulk forms of the same chemicals. When present as small particles, some of these nanomaterials can penetrate deeply into the lungs, go through the skin, collect in various organs, and even pass through the blood-brain barrier.
According to the RAND report, government resources should focus on assessing the toxicity of nanomaterials, understanding how workers are exposed to such materials, and determining the effectiveness of measures to safeguard the health of workers. The multibillion-dollar investments in nanotechnology being made by private firms and the federal government will continue to be at risk if such steps are not taken, according to workshop participants.
AND MORE....
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
RAND
Nanomaterials in the Workplace
Policy and Planning Workshop on Occupational Safety and Health [online 25 April 2006]
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF227/index.html
or
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/2006/RAND_CF227.pdf
[full-text, 50 pages]
By: James T. Bartis, Eric Landree
What are the challenges the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and related federal agencies face when allocating limited resources so that worker health and safety go hand in hand with innovation and technical progress? This was the central issue addressed at a workshop on nanotechnology and occupational safety and health hosted by the RAND Corporation on October 17, 2005. The workshop focused on policy and planning issues (as opposed to scientific issues) that are key to understanding the options available to NIOSH in formulating and implementing its strategic objectives to protect the safety and health of workers exposed to nanoscale materials. This document of the conference proceedings draws on discussions during the workshop and places the discussions within a policy framework for further consideration by NIOSH.
Contents
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Strategic Challenges
Chapter Three: Resources
Chapter Four: Toward Nanotechnology Workplace Safety
Appendix A: Workshop Participants
Appendix B: Agenda for Policy and Planning Workshop on Nanotechnology and Occupational Safety and Health
Press Release, April 25, 2006
RAND REPORT SAYS GREATER EFFORT NEEDED TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM HEALTH RISKS POSED BY NANOMATERIALS
http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/04.25.html
The U.S. government is providing insufficient funding and other resources to understand and manage risks that nanomaterials pose to the health of workers in the rapidly growing nanotechnology industry, according to participants in a workshop hosted by the RAND Corporation.
RAND today issued a < http://www.rand.org/news/press.06//pubs/conf_proceedings/CF227/> report on the October 2005 workshop that brought together nanotechnology and health experts and representatives from industry, insurance firms, labor unions, and occupational health and safety organizations.
Nanotechnology involves the study and manipulation of engineered materials down to the size of a nanometer one billionth of a meter, or about one one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair. Because of their extremely small size, these nanomaterials can take on unusual physical and chemical properties that allow novel uses, but at the same time can create new health risks.
Although based on substances scientists already understand, nanomaterials essentially are new substances that can have properties that are very different from the bulk forms of the same chemicals. When present as small particles, some of these nanomaterials can penetrate deeply into the lungs, go through the skin, collect in various organs, and even pass through the blood-brain barrier.
According to the RAND report, government resources should focus on assessing the toxicity of nanomaterials, understanding how workers are exposed to such materials, and determining the effectiveness of measures to safeguard the health of workers. The multibillion-dollar investments in nanotechnology being made by private firms and the federal government will continue to be at risk if such steps are not taken, according to workshop participants.
AND MORE....
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 12:20 PM
