In this article in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers from Arizona State University, the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, all in the U.S., present a model for prioritizing research strategies in a way “that is responsive to the recommendations of recent reports on the management of the risk and impact of nanomaterials on the environment and human health.” The authors write that along with the emergence of nanotechnology has come recognition of the need for approaches to understand and manage the impact of such technologies on the environment and human health. These new approaches need to include such elements as life-cycle thinking, public participation and adaptive management of the associated risks. There is a clear need, they say, to develop a framework for linking research on the risks to the decision-making needs of manufacturers, regulators, consumers, and other stakeholder groups. The very high uncertainties associated with nanomaterials and their impact on the environment and human health, mean that research resources should be directed toward creating knowledge that is most meaningful to these groups.
http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2011.163.html