NNI Environmental, Health, & Safety-Related Documents

National Nanotechnology Initiative Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy: 2024 Update

Dec. 18, 2024

This document lays out a comprehensive, integrated approach that builds on the 2011 NNI Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research Strategy. The challenges and opportunities outlined in this document build on the advances of two decades of nanoEHS research. The 2024 update reflects current opportunities to enable responsible nanotechnology innovation to flourish, benefiting human health, the environment, the economy, and society. It first assesses the progress and current research needs in the research areas, including the ethical, legal, and societal implications (ELSI) outlined in the 2011 strategy. It then addresses unmet needs and emerging challenges through a framework of cross-cutting themes. The update concludes with strategic actions that require coordinated efforts to address unmet and new needs in nanoEHS.


U. S. federal perspective on critical research issues in nanoEHS

Oct. 1, 2023

This article discusses critical issues and opportunities going forward in nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety (nanoEHS) research from the perspective of federal government agency participants in the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s interagency Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications Working Group (NEHI). NEHI is responsible for coordination of federal science agency nanoEHS research. As participants in NEHI, the authors examine critical issues in nanoEHS research from an integrated, transdisciplinary perspective. Major themes identified include detection, measurement, and characterization of real-world nanomaterial exposures; understanding the biological transformation of nanomaterials and their potential (eco)toxicological implications; understanding the landscape of nanotechnology-enabled products in commerce; and advancing the EHS knowledge infrastructure related to nanomaterials and nanotechnology.

A look back at the NNI’s interagency nanoEHS research collaboration

Oct. 14, 2022

This online article looks back at how research activities on the environmental, health, and safety implications of nanomaterials within the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) started and grew over time. The article discusses the key role of the Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group in coordinating these activities and in enabling the development of the 2008 and 2011 NNI Research Strategies. “With the publication of these research strategies, the NNI and its NEHI Working Group realized a new level of cooperation and urgency that has since been a major driver of interdisciplinary/cross-sector approaches,” the article states. International nanoEHS research activities supported by the NNI are also described. “By advancing tools, methods, and standards for robust health and safety evaluation, these cooperative efforts have fostered the safe and responsible development of nanotechnology in many regions of the world,” the article states.

Fifteen years of nanoEHS research advances science and fosters a vibrant community

Nov. 6, 2019

Following the 15-year anniversary of the signing of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, this article reflects on progress made in understanding both the potential environmental, health and safety implications of nanomaterials (nanoEHS) and the ethical, legal and societal aspects of nanotechnology. The nanoEHS community “has matured far beyond the days decades ago when the potential impacts of nanomaterials were largely unknown, to a situation where tools and protocols have been developed, engineering controls for laboratory and worker safety have been established, adoption of common data formats is underway and the value of working across boundaries of all kinds has become clear,” the article states. The article discusses the parameters that define the behaviors of nanomaterials, how nanomaterials interact with cells and tissues in the body, techniques used to detect and characterize nanomaterials in environmental and biological media, and the potential effects of exposure to engineered nanomaterials on human health.

Highlights of Recent Research on the Environmental, Health, and Safety Implications of Engineered Nanomaterials

September 1, 2017

Nanotechnology involves harnessing the unique properties of materials at the nanoscale to enable innovation. Nanotechnology has an established role in fields as diverse as electronics, energy, environmental remediation, and medicine. Addressing potential nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety (nanoEHS) issues is essential to the safe and responsible development of nanomaterials and nanotechnology-enabled products—a key goal of the U.S. Government’s National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).”

Quantifying Exposure to Engineered Nanomaterials (QEEN) from Manufactured Products – Addressing Environmental, Health, and Safety Implications

March 28, 2016

This report on Quantifying Exposure to Engineered Nanomaterials (QEEN) from Manufactured Products – Addressing Environmental, Health, and Safety Implications is the result of a technical workshop sponsored by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and co-hosted by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) on July 7 and 8, 2015, in Arlington, VA.