Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Nanomaterial safety a priority - OSHA bolsters Rice University-based safety program on eve of Buckyball Discovery Conference

Abstract:
Rice University researchers received a grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop training materials to help safety officers at small chemical companies that work with nanomaterials.

Nanomaterial safety a priority - OSHA bolsters Rice University-based safety program on eve of Buckyball Discovery Conference

Houston, TX | Posted on September 29th, 2010

Training materials developed through the federally funded program will target workers whose primary responsibility is safety within small-to-medium chemical companies that manufacture or process nanomaterials.

OSHA's Susan Harwood Training Grants program awarded Rice the largest of 16 new competitive grants to "develop and implement a variety of materials and training modules on the safe handling of nanomaterials."

"Many small companies have no dedicated occupational health professional on staff, relying instead on external consultants or a staff engineer or scientist for workplace safety training," said Kristen Kulinowski, a senior faculty fellow in chemistry at Rice and director of the Rice-based International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON). "Our materials will equip the designated 'safety person' with the information and resources needed to promote safe handling of nanomaterials throughout the workplace."

ICON administers a Virtual Journal of Nanotechnology Environment, Health and Safety Papers, and also maintains the GoodNanoGuide, a collaborative forum to encourage best practices and keep professionals up-to-date on how to handle nanomaterials in an occupational setting.

"The materials we develop with this new grant will be an extension of our work on developing and communicating information about potential nanomaterial health and safety impacts," Kulinowski said. "We'll incorporate the latest governmental guidance, toxicology and exposure-assessment research and collective wisdom of the broad international occupational health community into a set of free materials that can serve as the basis for a comprehensive workplace training program."

The grant was awarded on the eve of Rice's Buckyball Discovery Conference, which begins Oct. 11. Kulinowski is organizing the nanomaterial safety component of the conference. Experts in the proper handling of nanomaterials will lead a session on the second day of the three-day conference, which is part of Rice's Year of Nano, a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the carbon 60 molecule.

The afternoon session will provide an overview of the nanotechnology landscape from the societal perspective, covering environmental health and safety, policy, regulation and the law.

Participants include:

• Charles Geraci, coordinator of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Nanotechnology Research Center.

• Charles Gause, senior vice president of business development for Luna Innovations, which develops pharmaceuticals based on carbon nanotechnology.

• Larry Gibbs, associate vice provost for environmental health and safety at Stanford University and a fellow of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

• Bruce Lippy, founder of The Lippy Group and a certified industrial hygienist and certified safety professional. He has recently completed a guidance document for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, co-authored with Kulinowski, on providing health and safety training to workers exposed to nanomaterials.

• Pam Rosett, an industrial toxicologist at Lockheed Martin Aerospace.

• Walt Trybula, director of the Trybula Foundation Inc., program faculty at the Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University-San Marcos and a technology futurist who evaluates emerging trends and applications in nanotechnology and is currently focusing on nanotechnology safety needs.

Kulinowski noted that Geraci, Lippy and Trybula will contribute to the creation of training materials under the Harwood grant.

The afternoon session is co-organized by Rice's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology.

Registration is open for Year of Nano events. The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, the world's first nanotechnology center when it opened in 1991, will bring top scientists to Rice for the conference, which will take a comprehensive look at the past, present and future of nanotechnology.

The conference will incorporate the annual T.T. Chao Symposium on Innovation, which brings together established and emerging leaders in the technical, entrepreneurial and policy arenas to think about how Houston can address society's needs in the 21st century.

The Buckyball Discovery Conference is free, but participants must register and pay for meals and special events.

The "Week of Nano" will also feature a Bucky "Ball" Celebration at Rice on the evening of Oct. 11. It will include the presentation of the National Historic Chemical Landmark designation, facility tours, nanotechnology demos and memorabilia, as well as food and drinks. On Oct. 10, friends and fans of nano research at Rice will celebrate at the Buckyball Discovery Gala.

Lockheed Martin is the primary sponsor of the Year of Nano events. The company partners with the Smalley Institute in the Lockheed Martin Advanced Nanotechnology Center of Excellence at Rice, aka LANCER, through which researchers in academia tackle the high-tech industry's toughest problems.

For information about the Year of Nano, the conference and associated events, visit buckyball.smalley.rice.edu.

To register, visit buckyball.smalley.rice.edu/registration/.

For information about the Harwood Training Grants, visit www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/index.html

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
David Ruth 713-348-6327

Mike Williams
713-348-6728

Copyright © Rice University

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024

Nanotubes/Buckyballs/Fullerenes/Nanorods/Nanostrings

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

TU Delft researchers discover new ultra strong material for microchip sensors: A material that doesn't just rival the strength of diamonds and graphene, but boasts a yield strength 10 times greater than Kevlar, renowned for its use in bulletproof vests November 3rd, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes July 21st, 2023

Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications January 12th, 2024

Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers: Tandem electrocatalytic-thermocatalytic conversion could help offset emissions of potent greenhouse gas by locking carbon away in a useful material January 12th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Safety-Nanoparticles/Risk management

First human trial shows ‘wonder’ material can be developed safely: A revolutionary nanomaterial with huge potential to tackle multiple global challenges could be developed further without acute risk to human health, research suggests February 16th, 2024

New research may make future design of nanotechnology safer with fewer side effects: Study shows a promising strategy to reduce adverse reactions to nanoparticles by using complement inhibitors October 6th, 2023

Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023

Billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving baby food containers: Exposure to plastic particles kills up to 75% of cultured kidney cells July 21st, 2023

Events/Classes

Researchers demonstrate co-propagation of quantum and classical signals: Study shows that quantum encryption can be implemented in existing fiber networks January 20th, 2023

CEA & Partners Present ‘Powerful Step Towards Industrialization’ Of Linear Si Quantum Dot Arrays Using FDSOI Material at VLSI Symposium: Invited paper reports 3-step characterization chain and resulting methodologies and metrics that accelerate learning, provide data on device pe June 17th, 2022

June Conference in Grenoble, France, to Explore Pathways to 6G Applications, Including ‘Internet of Senses’, Sustainability, Extended Reality & Digital Twin of Physical World: Organized by CEA-Leti, the Joint EuCNC and 6G Summit Sees Telecom Sector as an ‘Enabler for a Sustainabl June 1st, 2022

How a physicist aims to reduce the noise in quantum computing: NAU assistant professor Ryan Behunin received an NSF CAREER grant to study how to reduce the noise produced in the process of quantum computing, which will make it better and more practical April 1st, 2022

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project