Nanotechnology: Better Guidance Is Needed to Ensure Accurate Reporting of Federal Research Focused on Environmental, Health, and Safety Risks

United States. Government Accountability Office.

United States. Government Accountability Office.

关键词: Government accountability -- United States.;    science and technology;    nanotechnology;    letter report;   

RP-ID  :  GAO-08-402
RP-ID  :  274233

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), administered by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), is a multiagency effort intended to coordinate the nanotechnology-related activities of 25 federal agencies that fund nanoscale research or have a stake in the results. Nanotechnology is the ability to control matter at the scale of a nanometer--one billionth of a meter. A key research area funded by some federal agencies relates to potential environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risks that may result from exposure to nanoscale materials. Because of concerns about federal efforts to fund and prioritize EHS research, GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which selected agencies conducted such research in fiscal year 2006; (2) the reasonableness of the agencies' and the NNI's processes to identify and prioritize such federal research; and (3) the effectiveness of the agencies' and the NNI's process to coordinate this research. GAO reviewed quantitative and qualitative data from five federal agencies that provided 96 percent of fiscal year 2006 funding for EHS research."