From the definition of the term “nano,” to particle size and shape, to environmental impact, a series of recommendations released from the Nanotechnology Standards Panel of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI-NSP) provides a broad framework from which standards work in this emerging area of technology can be approached. The ANSI-NSP serves as the cross-sector coordinating body for standards in the area of nanotechnology and provides the forum within which stakeholders can work cooperatively to promote, accelerate, and coordinate the timely development of useful voluntary consensus standards.
In September 2004, nearly 100 representatives of academia, the legal profession, industry, government, standards developing organizations and other subject matter experts gathered for the first meeting of the ANSI-NSP to discuss the coordination and development of voluntary consensus standards relating to nanotechnology. As a result of this first meeting, the panel has issued a set of priority recommendations on those areas of nanotechnology that have the most urgent need for standardization.
The recommendations identify four broad standardization topics to be most urgent in a 12-month-or-less time frame:
- General terminology for nanoscience and technology, including definition of the term “nano,” consideration of impact on intellectual property/other issues, sensitivity to existing conventions
- Systematic terminology for materials composition and features, including composition, morphology and size
- Toxicity effects/environmental impact/risk assessment, including environmental health and safety, reference standards for testing, controls, and testing methods for toxicity
- Metrology/methods of analysis/standards test methods, including particle size and shape, and particle number and distribution
The ANSI-NSP identified manufacturing and processing as well as modeling and simulation as items of lower urgency and noted standardization time frames of 3-5 years in these areas.
The panel is actively soliciting the participation of ANSI accredited standards developing organizations and other interested parties in its efforts toward developing nanotechnology standards.
To view the full text of the recommendations, click here.