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Introduction

The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) is the federal agency charged with protecting Americans from harm in the workplace. Housed within the Department of Labor, OSHA regulates the manufacture and transport of hazardous materials in the workplace and conducts inspections to ensure employer compliance with those standards. Although OSHA is one of the 22 federal agencies participating under the National Nanotechnology Initiative, OSHA has not issued any regulations or standards specific to nanotechnology (Dimartino, 2003). Indeed, it is only within the last two years that OSHA has even maintained a dedicated Website for addressing nanotechnology issues.

Nevertheless, employers are required by a “general duty” under OSHA to provide a safe workplace free from any recognized hazards. Moreover, OSHA does have a set of regulatory tools that may fit well within the framework of nanotechnology manufacture. Even though most of those regulations currently focus on worker safety around larger-sized (macro) particulates and aerosols, these regulations target that the same sort of health and safety issues that emerge around nanoparticle exposure: concerns with inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. Despite the fact that nanotechnology manufacture in the United States is growing at a rapid pace (Tindall, 2010), OSHA has not actively addressed health and safety concerns about nanotechnology, primarily due to the scant health and safety research on nanotechnology.

Discussion

Growing gap between health and safety

Citing the growing gap between health and safety research and primary research on nanotechnology, OSHA has refrained from issuing specific nanotechnology regulations and has, instead, relied heavily on the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH) to forward suggestions on the best practices for nanotechnology manufacture. Acting as OSHA's scientific research arm, NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NIOSH researchers conduct epidemiological, toxicity and risk assessment studies on workers and their environments. In 2005, NIOSH released its Strategic Plan for the study of Nanotechnology in the workplace and updated its findings in 2009. NIOSH has set goals not only to promote further health and safety studies on nanotechnology, but also to enhance workplace safety through national and international collaborations. In 2006, NIOSH initiated an Information Exchange that allowed for data and information sharing (Buchholz, 2007). Ideally, various stakeholders would contribute to the pool of information, which would allow NIOSH to periodically update the site by summarizing the findings, thus reporting on the best available science in a time sensitive manner.

Nevertheless, employers are required by a “general duty” under OSHA to provide a safe workplace free from any recognized hazards. Moreover, OSHA does have a set of regulatory tools that may fit well within the framework of nanotechnology manufacture. Even though most of those regulations currently focus on worker safety around larger-sized (macro) particulates and aerosols, these regulations target that the same sort of health and safety issues that emerge around nanoparticle exposure: concerns with inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. Despite the fact that nanotechnology manufacture in the United States is growing at a rapid pace (Tindall, 2010), OSHA has not actively addressed health and safety concerns about nanotechnology, primarily due to the scant health and safety research on ...