The March 2023 issue of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) eNews includes an item announcing the publication of an article entitled “Results of the 2019 Survey of Engineered Nanomaterial Occupational Health and Safety Practices” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. According to the abstract, the survey aimed to understand whether workers follow the recommendations of NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC). From September to December 2019, NIOSH worked with RTI International to administer an online survey about workplace safety and health practices related to nanomaterials.
The abstract states that 45 U.S. and Canadian companies completed the survey developed by RAND Corporation. More than a third (37.8 percent) of the respondents reported using at least one NIOSH resource to acquire information about safe handling of engineered nanomaterials. The abstract notes that the small number of companies that responded to and completed the survey “is a considerable limitation to this study.” The abstract states that the survey data “are valuable for gauging the reach and influence of the NIOSH NTRC on nano OHS and for informing future outreach, particularly to small businesses.”