Due to health, safety and environmental issues in the field of nanotechnology and considering a number of barriers for commercialization of a nanoproduct including toxicity and so on, Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council (INIC) decided to establish a network with collaboration of experts and researchers who are active in EHS fields.
This network aims to provide opportunities and facilities for experts and researchers as well as interested centers. Furthermore, this network provides the infrastructures and requirements for researchers to focus their activities and studies for compiling regulations standards and rules related to safety and environment in nanotechnology.
A survey was conducted by Iran Nanotechnology Standardization Committee to identify experts, researchers and active centers in nano safety field all over the country. A strategic council was formed after the survey.
The council compiled article of association and strategic plan in line with short- and long-term goals for the network. The network started its official activities since 2013.
The main objectives of the network
- Networking experts, researchers and active scientific and industrial centers in the field of safety, health and environment
- Determining national priorities by coordinating with researchers, experts, and research centers
- Providing the facilities and requirement for writing regulations, guidelines and rules in the field of nano safety
- Supporting researchers for writing national and international standards and adoption of other countries standards
- Helping to increase capabilities of hard and soft tools for nano safety inside the country
The main achievements
- Establishing strategic council
- Establishing work groups
- Holding the first national conference on standard and safety in 2013
- Holding the symposium on “Nanomaterials Safety in Environment and Human Health”
- Holding international congress on nano safety in Iran, 2014
- Designing a software for nano safety called Miliardium
- Cooperation for Holding the Asian Nano Forum Conference (ANFC) in 2015
The main work groups are described below.
1- Environmental Safety Work Group
Writing regulation guidelines and standards in environmental issues of nanotechnology are the main duties of this work group.
The priorities of the work group:
- Evaluating the main resources of nanomaterials in environment and their pollution mechanism
- Identifying effective factors on transferring nanomaterials into environment
- Evaluating the mechanism of transferring the nanomaterial in different environmental conditions
- Evaluating the effect of nanomaterials on the specific species and the ability of different schematic test
- Evaluating the side effects of nanoengineering materials on human society and ecological components
- Life cycle assessment of nanomaterials
- Risk management of nanomaterials and proposing the working framework
2- Human Health Work Group
This working group’s activities are in the field of assessment of safety and health for nanomaterials in cosmetic, foods, and drugs.
The most important priorities of the work group:
- In vitro, in vivo researchers for determining and predicting human body responses to nanomaterials
- Measurement and characterization of nanomaterials in biological media
- Assessing the relation between chemico-physical properties of nanomaterials and the factors such as absorbance, distribution, metabolism, excreting in human body
- Assessing the relation between physic-chemical properties of nanomaterial and their amount of penetration to body tissues
- Reaction of human body to nanomaterial in molecule scale, cellule, tissue, and organ
3- Occupational Safety Work Group
The working group scope is in the field of writing code of practice, training and providing tools and instruments for nanotechnology workplaces.
The most important priorities of the work group:
- Assessing the processes and main factors of exposure to nanomaterials
- Identifying the populations of exposure
- Describing the effect of exposure to nanomaterials
- Combining information on risk, hazard, and exposure to nanomaterials
4- Nanoethics Work Group
This working group makes policy in the national level for moral and ethical issues in nanotechnology as well as social acceptance of nanotechnology.
This work group has long- and short-term approaches. It aims to provide a needed forum for informed discussion of ethical and social concerns related to nanotechnology and also write required ethical codes for nanotechnology in national level.
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