This Technical Report describes health and safety practices in occupational settings relevant to
nanotechnologies. The initial outline was prepared using U. S. NIOSH's Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology:
An Information Exchange with NIOSH. 1
This Technical Report focuses on the occupational manufacture and
use of engineered nanomaterials. It does not address health and safety issues or practices associated with
nanomaterials generated by natural processes, hot processes and other standard operations which
unintentionally generate nanomaterials, or potential consumer exposures or uses, though some of the
information in this Technical Report might be relevant to those areas. For more general information on the
environment, health and safety of nanotechnologies, the reader can refer to other existing well documented
reviews.2-7 Use of the information in this Technical Report could help companies, researchers, workers and
other people to prevent adverse health and safety consequences during the production, handling, use and
disposal of manufactured nanomaterials. This advice is broadly applicable across a range of nanomaterials
and applications.
This Technical Report is based on current information about nanotechnologies, including characterization,
health effects, exposure assessments, and control practices. The authors of the Technical Report have
attempted to remain current with the use of terms and their definitions. However, definitions in this field are
evolving and some terms have not yet undergone ISO consensus review. Therefore, the terms are intended to
be used solely for the purpose of this Technical Report and not to be considered formal definitions beyond this
Technical Report. It is expected that this Technical Report will be revised and updated and new safety
standards will be developed as our knowledge increases and experience is gained in the course of
technological advance
