Over the past decade, nanomaterials have exploded onto the marketplace, ranging in use from teddy bears and tennis rackets to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. What do we know about these materials and how are we addressing them from a public health standpoint?
The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco recently released a draft version of their report, "A Nanotechnology Policy Framework: Policy Recommendations for Addressing Potential Health Risks from Nanomaterials in California," which makes recommendations about how to face the new challenges to the policy and risk assessment process that nanomaterials present because of their unique properties. The document draws upon lessons we can learn from past chemical policy experiences and other recent nanotechnology reports in making recommendations for California. The final report is due out the second week of June 2010.
Read the draft report
On June 10, 2010 CHE explored the recommendations from this report. Presenters on the call covered what we know about the unique properties of nanomaterials, why we should be concerned, how nanotechnology is being addressed at the policy and public health level, and what the gaps are in our knowledge.
Featured presenters included:
- Amber Wise, PhD, Chemist and Postdoctoral Fellow, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco
- Jennifer Sass, PhD, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Carl Cranor, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside
The call was moderated by Steve Heilig, CHE Director of Public Health and Education
