Atomistic: a Ni based superalloy with highly engineered composition and nanostructure tailored for specific mechanical properties.
Originally uploaded on Flickr by jurvetson.
Momentum is building in the U.S. "Congress, environmental circles and in the industry itself to beef up federal oversight of the new materials, which are already showing up in dozens of consumer products. But large gaps in scientists' understanding of the materials are slowing the development of a regulatory scheme. Equally unresolved is who should pay for the additional safety studies that everyone agrees are needed......
"An estimated 700 types of nanomaterials are being manufactured at about 800 facilities in this country alone, prompting several federal agencies to focus seriously on nano safety. Yet no agency has developed safety rules specific to nanomaterials. And the approach being taken by the Environmental Protection Agency, arguably the furthest along of any regulatory body, is already facing criticism by some as inadequate.....
"Congress has begun to take note. At a House Science Committee hearing Nov. 17, environmental and industry representatives alike said federal spending on environmental, health and safety implications of nanotechnology should be $100 million to $200 million a year, or about 10 percent to 20 percent of the government's $1.1 billion nanotech development budget for fiscal 2006.
"By contrast, the government is slated to spend $39 million this year on research whose 'primary purpose' is to investigate those issues, said Clayton Teague, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. He said that figure is 'probably appropriate,' given the overall federal investment and the modest number of products on the market.
"But David Rejeski of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies), which last week released a new inventory of U.S. nano research, said federal spending on studies truly devoted to environmental and health concerns is actually only $6 million, with some topics still completely unaddressed."
Check out the Nanotechnology for Development community page of the Development Gateway.
No comments:
Post a Comment