[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33174-33175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10958]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Request for Information; National Nanotechnology Initiative 
Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy; Extension of 
Comment Period

AGENCY: Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

ACTION: Notice of request for information; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), on 
behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and 
Technology Council (NSTC), is extending the comment period for the 
notice announcing a request for information and comments that appeared 
in the Federal Register of April 5, 2023. In that notice, NNCO 
requested information and comments on updating the National 
Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) 
Research Strategy. The NNCO is taking this action to allow interested 
persons additional time to submit comments. The NNI's current strategy 
was prepared in 2011, with substantial public engagement. Federal 
agencies participating in NSET's Nanotechnology Environmental and 
Health Implications (NEHI) Working Group have begun to review the 2011 
NNI EHS Research Strategy and request input to help inform a revised 
and updated EHS strategy.

DATES: The NNCO is extending the comment period on the notice published 
April 5, 2023 (88 FR 20194). Interested persons and organizations are 
invited to submit comments on or before 5 p.m. ET June 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation or 
cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please 
contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. OSTP will not accept comments by fax or by email, or comments 
submitted after the comment period closes. To ensure that OSTP does not 
receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. 
Additionally, please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to submit 
your comments electronically. Information on how to use 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under ``FAQ'' (https://www.regulations.gov/faq).
    Privacy Note: OSTP's policy is to make all comments received from 
members of the public available for public viewing in their entirety on 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, 
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only 
information that they wish to make publicly available. OSTP requests 
that no proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally 
identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents need 
not reply to all questions listed. For all submissions, clearly 
indicate which questions are being answered. Multiple submissions from 
an individual, group, or institution will be considered as supplements 
to the original response and not as new comments. Submissions should 
include the name(s) of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the 
comment.
    Any information obtained from this RFI is intended to be used by 
the Government on a non-attribution basis for planning and strategy 
development. OSTP will not respond to individual submissions. A 
response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to 
develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. This RFI is not 
accepting applications for financial assistance or financial 
incentives. Please note that the United States Government will not pay 
for response preparation, or for the use of any information contained 
in a response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rhema Bjorkland at [email protected] 
or 202-517-1050. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the 
deaf and hard of hearing (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 
at 1-800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Information: NEHI, on behalf of 
the NNI, is engaging the community early in the process to allow the 
public and key stakeholders to inform revisions to the NNI EHS research 
strategy. In preparing comments, the public is invited to view the core 
research areas and their associated needs as set out in the NNI 2011 
Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research Strategy (https://www.nano.gov/2011EHSStrategy). The 2014 Progress Review on the 
Coordinated Implementation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative 
2011 Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy (https://www.nano.gov/2014-EHS-Progress-Review) and 2017 Highlights of Recent 
Research on the Environmental, Health, and Safety Implications of 
Engineered Nanomaterials (https://www.nano.gov/Highlights-Federal-NanoEHS-Report) provide additional information on the progress made in 
the core research areas.
    Information Requested: Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6617, OSTP is 
soliciting public input through an RFI to obtain feedback from a wide 
variety of stakeholders, including individuals, industry, academia, 
research laboratories, nonprofits, and think tanks. OSTP is interested 
in public input to inform an updated nanotechnology EHS research 
strategy, specifically a strategy that focuses on the use of science-
based risk analysis and risk management to protect public health and 
the environment while also fostering the technological advancements 
that benefit society. OSTP seeks responses to any or all of the 
following questions:
    1. What are the research accomplishments in the following six core 
research areas identified in the 2011 NNI EHS Strategy? The six core 
research areas are (1) Nanomaterial Measurement Infrastructure, (2) 
Human Exposure Assessment, (3) Human Health, (4) Environment, (5) Risk 
Assessment and Risk Management Methods, and (6) Informatics and 
Modeling.
    2. What research gaps remain in addressing the six NNI EHS core 
research areas listed in question 1?
    3. The ethical, legal, and societal implications (ELSI) of 
nanotechnology are considered across the core research areas of the 
2011 strategy. What additional ways could ELSI be more fully integrated 
throughout a refreshed NNI EHS research strategy?
    4. What broad themes should the revised strategy adopt to integrate 
and connect the six research areas?
    5. How should the updated NNI EHS research strategy reflect the 
evolution of nanotechnology beyond engineered nanomaterials to complex 
systems, structures, and devices?

[[Page 33175]]

    6. The 2011 strategy focused on engineered nanomaterials and did 
not include incidental nanoscale materials such as nanoplastics and 
certain nanoscale particulate emissions such as those from 3D printing. 
If the updated strategy is revised to include some non-engineered or 
incidental nanomaterials, describe how to scope the strategy in a way 
that complements rather than being redundant with existing health and 
environmental research (e.g., by excluding the large body of existing 
research on air pollution, which can include nanoscale particles).

    Dated: May 18, 2023.
Stacy Murphy,
Deputy Chief Operations Officer/Security Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-10958 Filed 5-22-23; 8:45 am]
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