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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 ...