New
York, NY – November 17, 2004
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.
The full text of the recommendations
is available via ANSI Online.
ANSI is a private non-profit
organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global
competitiveness and the American quality of life by
promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity
of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment
system. Comprised of businesses, professional societies
and trade associations, standards developers, government
agencies, and consumer and labor organizations, the
ANSI Federation represents the diverse interests of
more than 120,000 entities and 3.2 million professionals
worldwide.
ANSI is the official U.S. representative
to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ANSI currently
has offices in New York City and Washington, DC.
Contact:
Stephanie Carroll
ANSI
(212) 642-4890
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