Going Beyond Green - Research Progress on Environmental Health and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials - page 72

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Going Beyond Green
INTRODUCTION: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
In the previous chapters of this report, the committee examined research and infrastructure
developments related to environmental, health, and safety (EHS) aspects of engineered nanomaterials
(ENMs). The committee assessed findings from recently released US and European Union reports that
provide global perspectives on the needs for advancing EHS nanotechnology research (see discussion in
Chapter 2). The committee examined trajectories of progress in the research and infrastructure priorities
articulated in its first report (Chapter 3) and identified critical barriers to progress and steps that are
needed to ensure that progress is made (that is, to get to green) (Chapter 4). The present chapter builds on
Chapters 3 and 4 to address overarching issues that are relevant to ensuring timely progress in the
committee's research priorities. It amplifies issues included in the overall charge on the basis of the
committee's review of progress since the first report and provides a means to address the criteria for
assessing research progress over the longer-term described in that first report. As part of this evaluation,
the committee presents a construct (Figure 4-1) that provides an overall vision of a comprehensive
research enterprise on the potential EHS risks posed by ENMs, capturing the interrelated and
interdependent research activities that are driven by the evolving production of ENMs. That construct
highlights critical interactions among members of the research community and the wider group of
stakeholders and the importance of a coordinated infrastructure to ensure that the efforts of the research
community are optimized. These themes are reflected in the committee's longer-term criteria for
addressing research progress and address issues such as the level of interaction and collaboration among
key stakeholders; the coordination and integration of the research strategy with regards to planning,
budgeting, and management; accessibility of information to interested stakeholders; and the feasibility of
conducting the research in a timely manner so that it is responsive to stakeholder and decision-maker
needs.
In this chapter, the committee provides a broader perspective and suggestions for creating a
successful portfolio of risk-related research. Both here and in the first report, the committee has
highlighted that how a research strategy is implemented is just as central to its success as is its scientific
or technical content. A strategy for risk research should recognize the inherent technical and cultural
obstacles that researchers and the broader community can face in building knowledge about potential
EHS risks. Such considerations are vital for creating a robust global research community that can
successfully identify the risks associated with emerging ENMs while providing strategies for minimizing
the risks. A successful research enterprise, as shown in Figure 4-1, will provide findings of immediate
relevance to the responsible development of nanotechnology, and sustaining that enterprise will be of
interest to all its diverse stakeholders to ensure that risk is effectively managed.
This chapter offers a vision of a global research enterprise that will be the vehicle for answering
current and future questions about the potential risks posed to human health and the environment by
ENMs. The overarching (or ultimate) goal of the enterprise is to generate the information needed to
design materials and processes to be safer from the outset—to reduce or eliminate hazards and risks to