Chapter 15 – Nanotechnology safety certification

Abstract

To ensure industry competence in protecting the safety of workers creating engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), there must be a certification process that describes the necessary skill sets to ensure worker safety. Several federal government agencies on the national and international stage are working toward developing safety standards for workers who create EMNs. A process must be implemented to obtain validity of the certification exam and address how the exam will be given. A governing body must verify that the exam will meet certification requirements as well as which information is acquired by federal agencies. In the United States over the next few years, the majority of the workers will be of the Generation Y population. How well Generation Y workers absorb and retain information will dictate the instructional format of the certification exam. Outside-the-box instructional approaches, such as Second Life, can assist in developing the instruction format that is needed. As new ENMs are developed, it is critical to further promote the establishment of standards and certifications, which will protect human safety, prevent lawsuits, and avoid a negative public perception of nanotechnology.