[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 233 (Monday, December 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75707-75708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30414]


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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 approximately one page or less in 
length (4,000 characters) are requested. This request will be active 
from December 6, 2010, to January 6, 2011.

DATES: Comments are invited beginning December 6, 2010, and must be 
received by 11:59 p.m. EST on January 6, 2011.

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: [email protected]. 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/

[[Page 75708]]

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/
). 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 6, 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 
[email protected]. 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 [email protected]. 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. 2010-30414 Filed 12-3-10; 8:45 am]
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