In its largest meeting to date, more than 100 delegates from seventeen nations gathered in Seoul, Korea, last week for the third plenary meeting of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 229, nanotechnologies. Led by Dr. Clayton Teague, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office and chair of the ANSI-accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to TC 229, the United States assembled one of the largest delegations in attendance.
The purpose of the weeklong meeting was to further the development of the roadmaps and strategies that will guide the work of the technical committee’s three working groups in this rapidly advancing field. Delegates also laid plans for potential coordination with the recently formed IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) technical committee on nanotechnology standards relating to electrical and electronic products and systems. [See related article, NEMA to Coordinate Activities of IEC Committee on Nanotechnology]. Further coordination efforts with the IEC activity will be discussed at the next ISO TC 229 plenary meeting in Berlin, Germany, scheduled for June 2007.
The U.S.-convened working group on health, safety, and the environment furthered for publication its draft document, Health and Safety Practices in Occupational Settings Relative to Nanotechnologies. The TC 229 working group on terminology and nomenclature also made significant progress on draft technical specifications, Terminology of Nanoparticles.
In addition, the national bodies of Japan, South Korea and the United States—via ANSI—were encouraged to develop new work item proposals relative to the characterization of carbon nanotubes for input into the TC 229 working group on measurement and characterization. The U.S. is expected to submit at least one proposal for work in this area before year’s end. The U.S. also announced its intention to develop a technical report relating to toxicologic assessment of nanomaterials.
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