[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2428-2429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-555]
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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Request for Public Comment on the Draft National Nanotechnology
Initiative Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health,
and Safety Research
AGENCY: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
ACTION: Notice: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: With this notice, the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy and the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and
Technology Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council
request comments from the public regarding the draft National
Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related
Environmental, Health, and Safety Research (hereafter referred to as
``draft NNI EHS strategy''). The draft NNI EHS strategy is posted at
http://strategy.nano.gov. Comments of
[[Page 2429]]
approximately one page or less in length (4,000 characters) are
requested. This request will be active through January 21, 11:59 pm
EST.
DATES: Comments were previously invited through 11:59 p.m. EST on
January 6, 2011. This notice extends the period for public comment
through January 21, 11:59 pm EST.
ADDRESSES: Respondents are encouraged to register online at the NNI
Strategy Portal at http://strategy.nano.gov to post their comments
(4,000 characters or less) as a response to the request for public
comment. Alternatively, comments of one page in length or less may be
submitted via e-mail to: nnistrategy@ostp.gov. Any information you
provide to us may be posted online. Therefore, do not send any
information that might be considered proprietary, personal, sensitive,
or confidential.
Overview: The National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategy for
Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research or
``NNI EHS Strategy'' helps to facilitate achievement of the National
Nanotechnology Initiative vision by laying out guidance for agency
leaders, program managers, and the research community regarding
planning and implementation of nanotechnology EHS R&D investments and
activities.
The NNI is a U.S. Government R&D program of 25 agencies working
together toward the common challenging vision of a future in which the
ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a
revolution in technology and industry that benefits society. The
combined, coordinated efforts of these agencies have accelerated
discovery, development, and deployment of nanotechnology towards agency
missions and the broader national interest. Established in 2001, the
NNI involves nanotechnology-related activities by the 25 member
agencies, 15 of which have requested budgets for nanotechnology R&D for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2011.
The NNI is managed within the framework of the National Science and
Technology Council (NSTC), the Cabinet-level council that coordinates
science and technology across the Federal government and interfaces
with other sectors. The Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology
(NSET) Subcommittee of the NSTC coordinates planning, budgeting,
program implementation, and review of the NNI. The NSET Subcommittee is
composed of senior representatives from agencies participating in the
NNI (http://www.nano.gov). The NSET Subcommittee and its Nanotechnology
Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group provide
leadership in establishing the NNI environmental, health, and safety
research agenda and in communicating data and information related to
the environmental and health aspects of nanotechnology between NNI
agencies and with the public. NNI activities support the development of
the new tools and methods required for the research that will enable
risk analysis and assist in regulatory decision-making.
The NSET Subcommittee has solicited multiple streams of input to
inform the development of this latest NNI EHS Strategy. Independent
reviews of the NNI by the President's Council of Advisors on Science
and Technology and the National Research Council of the National
Academies have made specific recommendations for improving the NNI EHS
strategy. A series of four NNI workshops took place in 2009-2010 to
solicit input for this strategy: 1. Human & Environmental Exposure
Assessment of Nanomaterials (details at http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/exposure/), 2. Nanomaterials and the Environment &
Instrumentation, Metrology, and Analytical Methods (details at http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/environment/), 3. Nanomaterials and Human
Health & Instrumentation, Metrology, and Analytical Methods (details at
http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/humanhealth/), and 4. Capstone: Risk
Management Methods & Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of
Nanotechnology (details at http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/capstone/ capstone/
). Additional input has come from the NNI Strategic Planning
Stakeholders Workshop (details at http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/NNISPWorkshop/) as well as in responses to a Request for Information
published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2010, and comments posted
online in response to challenge questions from July 13-August 15, 2010,
at the NNI Strategy Portal (http://strategy.nano.gov).
The draft NNI EHS Strategy complements the 2010 NNI Strategic Plan
by setting forth the NNI strategy for nanotechnology-related
environmental, health, and safety (EHS) research. It describes the NNI
vision and goals for Federal EHS research and presents the current NNI
EHS research portfolio. The EHS strategy includes a description of the
NNI EHS research investment by research need, the state of the science,
and an analysis of the gaps and barriers to achieving that research as
part of the NNI's adaptive management of this strategy. This strategy
updates and replaces the NNI EHS Strategy of February 2008. The NNI EHS
Strategy aims to ensure the responsible development of nanotechnology
by providing guidance to the Federal agencies that produce the
scientific information for risk management, regulatory decision-making,
product use, research planning, and public outreach. The core research
areas providing this critical information are measurement, human
exposure assessment, human health, and the environment in order to
inform risk assessment and risk management.
Your comments on this draft of the plan must be received by 11:59
p.m. EST on January 21, 2011. Please reference page and line numbers as
appropriate, and keep your responses to 4,000 characters or less. You
may also e-mail your responses, no more than one page in length, to
nnistrategy@ostp.gov. Responses to this notice are not offers and
cannot be accepted by the Federal government to form a binding contract
or issue a grant. Information obtained as a result of this notice may
be used by the Federal government for program planning on a non-
attribution basis. Any information you provide to us may be posted
online. Therefore, do not send any information that might be considered
proprietary, personal, sensitive, or confidential.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any questions about the content of
this notice should be sent to NNIStrategy@ostp.gov. Questions and
responses may also be sent by mail (please allow additional time for
processing) to the address: Office of Science and Technology Policy,
ATTN: NNI EHS Strategy Comments, Executive Office of the President, 725
17th Street Room 5228, Washington, DC 20502. Phone: (202) 456-7116,
Fax: (202) 456-6021.
Ted Wackler,
Deputy Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2011-555 Filed 1-12-11; 8:45 am]
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