ANSI Celebrates National Nanotechnology Day

NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Nanotechnology Day on October 9, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), pays homage to the nanometer scale 10^-9– and recognizes the efforts of its members, the standards-setting organizations and their technical experts that develop standards that will benefit the entire nanotechnology community, including manufacturers, suppliers, regulators, and consumers. 

The United States National Nanotechnology Initiative's nanotechnology day is an annual event that features nationwide community-led events and activities to help raise nanotechnology awareness.  ANSI, coordinator of the U.S. standardization system, is involved in several key nanotechnology efforts and highlights ways to get involved in the U.S. and internationally on its new National Nanotechnology Day webpage.

ANSI Nanotechnology Standardization Work 
ANSI's Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP), established in August 2004, serves as the cross-sector coordinating body for the purposes of facilitating the development of standards in the area of nanotechnology including, but not limited to, nomenclature/terminology; health, safety and environmental aspects; materials properties; and testing, measurement and characterization procedures.

Today, the work of the ANSI-NSP has expanded to include providing support and advocacy for existing standards efforts. In 2013, the NSP launched its Nanotechnology standards database – nanostandards.ansi.org – a community-driven effort to bolster the visibility of nanomaterials and nanotechnology guidance documents, reference materials, and standards. And in 2015, the NSP launched its quarterly ANSI-NSP newsletter, which provides information regarding nanotechnology standards and related topics of interest, including guest columns from experts within the nanotechnology community.

Participation on the ANSI-NSP is open to all interested parties. Interested stakeholders can find out more via www.ansi.org/nsp.

ISO Nanotechnology Standards under Technical Committee 229 
As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ANSI encourages stakeholder participation in ISO/Technical Committee (TC) 229 on Nanotechnologies.

ISO/TC 229's first environmental health and safety document, published in 2008, was based on work originating in the U.S.:  the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology: An Information Exchange with NIOSH.  ISO/TR 12885 – Health and safety practices in occupational settings relevant to nanotechnologies, provides information to help companies, researchers, workers, and others to help prevent adverse health and safety consequences during the production, handling, use, and disposal of manufactured nanomaterials.

The U.S. holds important leadership roles within TC 229, including convenor of Working Group (WG)  3 on Health, safety and environment, and chair of two TC 229 Task Groups, which are focused on consumer and societal dimensions of nanotechnologies, and issues pertaining to nanotechnology and sustainability.  Additionally, U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) members currently lead the development of approximately 15 ISO standards, technical specifications and technical reports in areas such as determination of nano-object particle size distribution using a variety of spectroscopy techniques, toxicity assessment, and occupational health and safety.

IEC Nanotechnology Standards under Technical Committee 113 
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TC 113 focuses on Nanotechnology standardization for electrical and electronic products and systems. The U.S. National Committee to the IEC (USNC) TAG to TC 113 is the forum through which U.S. technologists and manufacturers of nano-enabled electrotechnical products can participate in the development of standards for characterizing nanoscale-attributes and the reliability and durability of nano-scale subassemblies.

Nanomaterial suppliers and product development experts in nano-electrotechnical measurements and performance assessments are urged to join the TC 113 TAG and help the U.S. lead in this vital work. For questions, contact TC 113 TAG Secretary Mike Leibowitz, NEMA.

ANSI's National Nanotechnology Day webpage also includes case studies from various organizations to demonstrate how nanotechnology standardization is making a difference – on National Nanotechnology Day and every day. These include:

• ASTM International Committee E56
• Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology Nanotechnology Institute
• TAPPI's International Nanotechnology Division
• PETA International Science Consortium Ltd

To find out more about nanotechnology standardization participation, contact Heather Benko, senior manager, ANSI nanotechnology standardization activities, [email protected].

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (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. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

SOURCE American National Standards Institute