Small world, big challenges

摘要

Nanotechnology is a major new force in the manufacture of products as diverse as car bumpers and drug-delivery micromachines. With its increasingly widespread applications, however, nanotechnology has drawn growing attention to occupational health and safety issues focusing on particles so small that there are few clear-cut guidelines on how to work with them in complete safety. The search for answers is evident in the call for input requested by John Howard, M.D., director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.