US government call for proposals for studies of nanomaterials and occupational health & safety

The US National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) has put out a call for Nanotechnology Studies proposals. From the March 8, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) invites applications from small businesses to conduct innovative research in three high-priority areas, including studies relating to the occupational health and safety aspects of nanotechnology. Applications for competitive funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program are due by April 5, August 5, and December 5 each year.

So April 5 is the next deadline for a proposal. The wording for the call is a little misleading as two of the three proposed areas of research are nanotechnology-oriented while the 3rd is focused on motor vehicle accidents and incidents. From the March 6, 2012 notice,

The proposed areas for NIOSH research include:

  • Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment for High Risk Occupations: Research is needed to develop and evaluate control strategies and personal protective equipment for specific hazards and to assure their practicality and usability in workplaces in all industrial sectors with high risk for potentially hazardous exposures. One of the goals of this research area is to evaluate the effectiveness of personal protective equipment in reducing occupational exposures to engineered nanomaterials.
  • Exposure Assessment Methods for High Risk Occupations: Exposure assessment provides strategies and methods to anticipate, recognize, evaluate, control, and confirm effective management of occupational health stressors, exposures to those stressors, and resulting health risks. One of the goals of this research area is the need to support effective assessment of worker exposure to engineered nanomaterials.
  • Occupational Traumatic Injuries from Motor Vehicle Crashes and Incidents: Motor vehicle-related incidents are consistently the leading cause of work-related fatalities in the United States. Priorities include developing new design concepts and standards, enhancing effective interventions for driver education, evaluating intervention strategies for their effectiveness in reducing the number or severity work-related motor vehicle incidents and crashes, and enhancing engineering controls for the prevention of crashes and incidents or reducing the severity of traumatic injury associated with such crashes and incidents.

There is more funding information here (I looked at it briefly but the whole thing seems a bit confusing as I gather it’s part of a ‘ginormous’ government programme, the sort of thing that usually requires hours of patient reading if you’re planning on making a submission). Good luck!

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