ISPESL: The ISPESL Contribution To Sustainable And Responsible Nanotechnology in Italy: The White Book On Occupational Exposure To Engineered Nanomaterials
Iavicoli S, Mirabile M, Boccuni F., ISPESL – Dept. of Occupational Medicine, Italy

Since the beginning of the 21st century the nanotechnologies (NT) have grown enormously, judging simply by the number of products now on the market and the funds dedicated to research and development (R&D). It is expected that by 2020 approximately 20% of all goods manufactured around the world will be based to some extent on the use of nanotechnology and in 2014 there may be as many as ten million people - about 11% of the total manufacturing sector's workforce – employed in processes using NT. However, against the background of these forecasts of NT becoming everyday items in the next five years or so, publications, patents and expenditure all indicate that R&D and research into the environmental, socio-economic, health and safety aspects of the NT, referred to by the United States Government's National Nanotechnology Initiative as Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) issues, are moving at different speeds.
In the face of this imbalance between scant knowledge of the health risks related to NM, and the rapid growth forecast for NT in coming years, research on environmental, health and safety aspects must be boosted, particularly on risk analysis for exposed workers; critical points must be identified and OSH policies established as the NT progress, with all efforts aimed at achieving a responsible, sustainable approach to their use.

In this background, the Italian working group for identifying prevention and protection measures related to occupational exposure to NM has been created in 2008 by the National Institute for Occupational Prevention and Safety (ISPESL). Its main aims are: The working group is made up of ISPESL researchers dealing with different health and safety aspects of NM in the workplace, and representatives of universities and official organizations that have proved sensitive to the question, on the national level: INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics), ISS (National Institute of Health), FSM (“Salvatore Maugeri” Foundation) and the universities of Trieste, Parma, Milan, Rome (Cattolica and Tor Vergata), with Nanotec IT as the national reference point for NT in industry, public research and institutions.

First output of this work is the White Book on occupational exposure to engineered NM, that will be published in 2010. Its main objectives are: to define the state of the art of Italian research, development and production of engineered NM, to focus on key questions for development of research in occupational health and safety field and to define strategies for policy impact on responsible and sustainable nanotechnology.
In a first phase the plan and schedule of this paper have been defined. In a second phase, after an editorial review and the final drafting of the book, a process for identifying National stakeholders active in this field, with different approach to the matter is started. The stakeholders involvement in a consultation process allows to obtain the contribution from institutional, business and research subjects who take part in responsible and sustainable nanotechnology development.
The White Book, as tool finalized through this process, will propose a complete “state of the art” of problems, gaps, needs and perspectives about the NT development and the related risks at workplaces. This path will lead to begin a discussion for defining regulations and policies that ensure a NT development in balance between the need of competitiveness and the need of prevention in occupational settings.