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Linda Godfrey
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The CSIR and its partners are to host the first South African Workshop for Nanotechnology Risk Assessment in Pretoria from 30 March to 1 April 2009.
The objective of the workshop will be to promote the exchange of knowledge between local and international stakeholders on the health, safety and environmental implications of nanomaterials.
Nanomaterials are applications with form and structural features smaller than a one tenth of a micrometre in at least one dimension.
CSIR's senior researcher Linda Godfrey says anticipated rapid increase in the production of nanomaterials in coming years makes it even more likely that living organisms will be exposed to these materials.
"However, nanomaterials hold enormous promise for more energy and material-efficient products and processes including potential opportunities in environmental clean-up and water treatment processes," Godfrey says.
The workshop provides a unique opportunity for diverse stakeholders in South Africa's nanotechnology industry - scientists, government, regulatory agencies and industry - to contribute towards a common understanding of the highest priority areas of concern in nanotechnology risk assessment and the best practices to address these concerns.
Global leading scientists in nanotoxicology, who have experience in establishing national risk assessment programmes related to nanotechnology, will be invited as speakers at this workshop.
Invited international researchers, who will be participating with the CSIR on this project, include Professor Günter Oberdörster, Professor of Toxicology in Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester, New York; Professor Kai Savolainen, Professor and Director of New Technologies and Risks at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health; and Dr Rodger Duffin, MRC Senior Fellow in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
"The collaboration with international specialists provides opportunities for north-south research collaboration, information exchange and capacity development," says Godfrey.
Enquiries: CSIR Communication
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