Excerpt

The Roundtable's twelfth meeting examined the environmental health issues surrounding the emergence of nanotechnology. This discussion continued the theme established by previous Roundtable workshops, looking at rebuilding the unity of health and the environment. This workshop summary captures the discussions and presentations by the speakers and participants, who identified the areas in which additional research was needed, the processes by which changes could occur, and the gaps in our knowledge. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute of Medicine, the Roundtable, or its sponsors.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Summary
  • BENEFITS AND POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
  • U.S. GOVERNMENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ENSURING SAFETY
  • CANADIAN PERSPECTIVE
  • THE RIGHT TIME TO PLAN FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY
• 1. Preparing for Nanotechnology: Health, Policy, and Emerging Issues
  • ISSUES IN NANOTECHNOLOGY INVOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SAFETY
  • NANOTECHNOLOGY: POLICY IMPLICATIONS
• 2. The Promise of Nanotechnology
  • PRODUCTS OF TODAY
  • ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY
  • NANOTECHNOLOGY, HUMAN HEALTH, AND MEDICINE
• 3. Nanotechnology: Expanding Scientific Understanding
  • SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING
  • INTERACTIONS WITH BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
  • ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE OF TOXICOLOGY OF NANOMATERIALS
  • ROUTES OF ADMINISTRATION AND POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS
  • OXIDATIVE STRESS
  • NANOTECHNOLOGY, INHALATION, AND CYTOTOXICITY
  • WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM DIESEL PARTICLES?
  • NANOTECHNOLOGY AND STRATEGIES TO ENSURE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
  • AN OPEN PROCESS
• 4. Nanotechnology: Government Involvement
  • APPROACHES FROM THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT
  • TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVED RISK STRATIFICATION AND DISEASE PREVENTION: U.S. GOVERNMENTAL INVOLVEMENT
• 5. Next Steps
  Lynn Goldman.
  • NOMENCLATURE
  • RISK–BENEFIT ANALYSIS
  • NEED FOR FRAMEWORK AND LEADERSHIP
• References
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Workshop Agenda
  • Appendix B Speakers and Panelists
  • Appendix C Workshop Participants

Support for this project was provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Health (Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139, Task#43); National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Contract No. 200-2000-00629, TO#7); National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Contract No. 0000166930); National Health and Environment Effects Research Laboratory and National Center for Environmental Research, Environmental Protection Agency (Contract No. 282-99-0045, TO#5); American Chemistry Council (unnumbered grant); and Exxon-Mobil Corporation (unnumbered grant). The views presented in this book are those of the individual presenters and are not necessarily those of the funding agencies or the Institute of Medicine.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This summary is based on the proceedings of a workshop that was sponsored by the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine. It is prepared in the form of a workshop summary by and in the names of the editors, with the assistance of staff and consultants, as an individually authored document.