Committee on Science and Technology
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Press Releases :: December 10, 2008

Chairman Gordon Comments on Report Criticizing Administration’s Strategy to Ensure Safety of Nanotechnology

(Washington, DC) –Today, the National Research Council released a report, "Review of the Federal Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research," which was highly critical of the current Administration’s research plan to ensure the safety of nanotechnology.

Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon made the following statement:

"The National Research Council’s report raises concerns about the adequacy of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) research component of the multi-agency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). I share many of these concerns, and in order to begin to address them, the Science and Technology Committee developed legislation (H.R. 5940) that passed the House of Representatives by a large margin earlier this year.

In particular, H.R. 5940 requires the development of an EHS research plan that specifies near-term research goals, along with timelines and milestones for achieving these goals; identifies multi-year funding requirements for each goal; specifies responsibilities for each participating agency for achieving the goals; and requires annual reassessments of progress, including review by an outside committee of experts. The legislation also assigns responsibility to an associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy for developing and implementing the EHS research plan. These legislative provisions are all aimed at correcting weaknesses in the federal research program cited in the NRC report.

The Science and Technology Committee will be reintroducing the NNI legislation in the next Congress, and I am confident that there is interest in the Senate in moving similar legislation. As the legislative process moves forward, we will carefully consider all of the recommendations of the NRC report for strengthening the EHS research component of the NNI. The enormous promise of nanotechnology will not be achieved unless any potential risks of the technology are well understood through a thorough, transparent research process that will both protect the public health and allay any safety concerns."

For more information, please visit Committee’s website.

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