title: Application of an informatics-based decision-making framework and process to the assessment of radiation safety in nanotechnology.
abstract: The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) established NCRP Scientific Committee 2-6 to develop a report on the current state of knowledge and guidance for radiation safety programs involved with nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale, at dimensions between ∼1 and 100 nm, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. While the full report is in preparation, this paper presents and applies an informatics-based decision-making framework and process through which the radiation protection community can anticipate that nano-enabled applications, processes, nanomaterials, and nanoparticles are likely to become present or are already present in radiation-related activities; recognize specific situations where environmental and worker safety, health, well-being, and productivity may be affected by nano-related activities; evaluate how radiation protection practices may need to be altered to improve protection; control information, interpretations, assumptions, and conclusions to implement scientifically sound decisions and actions; and confirm that desired protection outcomes have been achieved. This generally applicable framework and supporting process can be continuously applied to achieve health and safety at the convergence of nanotechnology and radiation-related activities.
authors.affiliation: *National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505-2888; †Livermore, CA 94550; ‡Los Alamos National Laboratory, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545; §Ray Guilmette & Associates, LLC, Perry, ME 04667; **Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, 2425 Ridgecrest Drive, SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108; ††Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany; ‡‡Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester, 575 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14627; §§Public Health England-Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, United Kingdom; ***National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 400, Bethesda, MD 20814; †††MPG-HP, Inc., 8068 Citricado Lane, Riverside, CA 92508-8720.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Leigh J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Cash
authors.forename: Raymond A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Guilmette
authors.forename: Wolfgang G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Kreyling
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oberdörster
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cassata
authors.forename: Bruce B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Boecker
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Grissom
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003657:Decision Making; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D061214:Patient Safety; D011827:Radiation; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States