The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering report ‘Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties’, highlighted that many nanotechnologies pose no new health and safety risks and that concerns at this time relate to the potential impacts of engineered nanoparticles and nanotubes in a free rather than embedded form. The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering identified these materials as a priority area for research, and we agreed in our response to develop a programme of research aimed at reducing the uncertainties relating to toxicity and exposure pathways for nanoparticles, as well as developing instrumentation to monitor these in the workplace and the environment. Developing a proper understanding of their properties is an essential step to proportionate regulation of any risk from these and other engineered nanomaterials.
This first report describes our research objectives to characterise the potential risks posed by engineered free nanoparticles and funding mechanisms to address these. The programme builds on the work of the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, and draws on detailed reviews that we have since commissioned to give us a detailed picture of our current state of knowledge in this area. Our programme has also been shaped by a series of meetings that we have held with stakeholders, including industry, academia, and civil society groups. This research programme is set within the wider context of our overall agenda to secure the responsible development of nanotechnologies published in February 2005, and our wider programme for public engagement on nanotechnologies published in August 2005. Understanding and responding to public aspirations and concern is critical to the responsible development of nanotechnologies and for that reason forms an integral part of our agenda.
A major aim of this report is to raise awareness of research priorities and funding opportunities both here and in Europe, as a first step towards developing a research community in the UK that can make its contribution to what will be a global endeavour in addressing the scientific uncertainties related to the safety of nanoparticles. We look to the scientific community in the UK to respond to this challenge and grasp the funding opportunities available.
