A terse statement from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today [
available here. PDF, 16 KB] confirmed that Dr. John Howard’s tenure as director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (
NIOSH) will not be renewed. A strong proponent of safe nanotechnology, it was Dr. Howard’s vision and impetus that put NIOSH on the nanotechnology map and ensured that this US agency with one of the smallest nanotech research budgets punched way above its weight; providing practical advice and guidance to businesses on how best to ensure the safety of their workplaces while underpinning the success of their products. His untimely departure could jeopardize US leadership in this area.
I clearly remember the day that the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (
NTRC) became a reality, shortly after Dr. Howard became NIOSH director. In a move that cut through so much red tape it must have looked like a bureaucratic snowstorm, John and I met to discuss a plan to coordinate nanotechnology activities across the agency. I don’t remember his exact words—just his enthusiasm for the idea and an immediate grasp of the need for NIOSH to look towards emerging risks—but I do remember that before lunch there was no NTRC, and after lunch there was.
It is this style of leadership that has continued to ensure NIOSH not only talks the talk, but also walks the walk when it comes to nanotechnology, no matter what the administrative and bureaucratic barriers.
Since that day,
NIOSH has been at the leading edge of filling in the knowledge gaps through a targeted research program, working with businesses to identify and solve problems, and providing the most up to date information possible on working safely with engineered nanomaterials—whether in the smallest start-up or the largest multinational.
And incredibly, all this has been achieved by scrimping and scraping internal dollars together to support the research, with nary a drop of help from above.
Make no mistake, the success of NIOSH in tacking nanotechnology in the workplace is built on the expertise of researchers within the agency. But it was Howard who made things happen. With his departure, there is a real concern that NIOSH’s ability to tackle real-world nanotechnology challenges will languish. It is unlikely that his replacement will have the same vision and drive to make nanotechnology a personal priority, leaving nanotech-focused researchers in the agency without a champion to support their cause. And there is no guarantee that those precious nano-dollars will be protected as the incoming director realigns agency research directions.
The solution of course is for CDC and the federal government to ensure NIOSH has the resources it needs to continue to ensure emerging nanotech workplaces are as safe as possible—around $20 million per year should do the trick [
based on my previous estimates]—and the internal leadership to channel resources into a robust and effective nanotechnology strategy.
If this happens, maybe John Howard’s departure will be just a very sad loss. But without action, his leaving could mark the end of a so-far highly successful initiative to support businesses in developing innovative new technologies as safely as possible.
For the sake of nanobusinesses in the US and beyond, let’s hope it is the former. In the meantime, NIOSH or no NIOSH, I suspect we haven’t seen the last of the Howard-nanotechnology partnership.