To mark National Nanotechnology day, October 10, SUNY Poly Research Associate for NanoHealth Initiatives and Assignee to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Nicole Neu-Baker, MPH, CPH, and SUNY Poly alum Gary Roth, Ph.D., MS, a researcher with the NIOSH Division of Science Integration Emerging Technologies Branch, joined LCDR Adrienne Eastlake, MS, RS/REHS, MT (ASCP), a research industrial hygienist with the NIOSH Division of Science Integration Science Applications Branch to write a blog post summarizing nanotechnology.

The date, 10-9, pays homage to the nanometer scale: 10^-9 (one billionth of a meter). To get an idea about how small this scale is, the width of a strand of human hair is about 90,000 nanometers and one nanometer is about the width of only two silicon atoms! The blog post notes that National Nanotechnology Day was created to help raise awareness of nanotechnology, to show how it is currently used in products that enrich our daily lives, and to consider future challenges and opportunities. Several questions and issues are addressed, including:

• What are engineered nanomaterials (ENM)?
• What are the potential health effects of ENM exposure to workers?
• How is NIOSH helping ENM workers?

The role of the NIOSH is examined in detail, and the post closes with an assessment of NIOSH’s impact on the field of nanotechnology, drawing from a recent publication co-authored by Ms. Neu-Baker and LCDR Eastlake.

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