Nanotechnology is generally defined as the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale (between 1 and 100 nanometers), in order to create materials, devices, and systems with fundamentally new properties and functions specific to that scale. For example, opaque materials, such as copper, become transparent at the nanoscale and inert materials, such as platinum and gold, become chemical catalysts. With the capacity to control and manipulate matter at this scale, nanotechnology promises advances in areas such as new drug delivery systems, more resilient materials and fabrics, stronger materials at a fraction of the weight, more efficient energy conversion, and dramatically faster computer chips. To guide federal development of this technology, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) was established in fiscal year 2001 to support long-term research and development aimed at accelerating the discovery, development, and deployment of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. The NNI is a multiagency program involving nanotechnology-related activities of the 25 federal agencies currently participating, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). See table 1 for a complete listing of federal agencies participating in the NNI as of December 2007. Federal support for nanotechnology research totaled about $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2006. Cumulatively through fiscal year 2006, federal agencies have devoted over $5 billion to nanotechnology research since the NNI’s inception. While not all of the NNI’s participating agencies conduct or sponsor research, in fiscal year 2006, 13 agencies had budgets dedicated to nanotechnology research and development. Eight of these 13 agencies devoted some of their research resources to studying the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risks of nanotechnology. Of these eight agencies, five—EPA, NIH, NIOSH, NIST, and NSF—accounted for almost 96 percent of the research focused on EHS risks in fiscal year 2006. NSF alone accounted for about 56 percent of all federal EHS risk research in fiscal year 2006. See figure 1 for a break out of research funds used by agency. A number of research and regulatory agencies support research to advance knowledge and information about the potential EHS risks of nanotechnology: The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) is a research agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that concentrates its research on topics related to human health. NIOSH’s research results in recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and death. It therefore focuses on studies that will improve scientists’ ability to identify potential adverse occupational health effects of nanomaterials. At NIH, another HHS research agency that concentrates on human health, nanotechnology research is generally focused on the development of medical applications and the protection of public health, including research to examine the interaction of nanomaterials with biological systems. Consistent with its mission to advance measurement science, standards, and technology to enhance economic security and improve our quality of life, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency in the Department of Commerce, develops the measurement techniques required to better characterize potential impacts of nanotechnology. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has the broadest research portfolio relative to nanotechnology and supports research to help meet its mission to promote the progress of science and engineering. With regard to EHS risks, NSF sponsors research to develop new methods to characterize nanoparticles and investigate the environmental implications and toxicity of nanomaterials. In addition, NSF sponsors a network of research centers that focus on a range of EHS issues including occupational safety during nanomanufacturing and the interaction of nanomaterials and cells. In addition to these research agencies, a number of regulatory agencies also have an interest in developing information about the potential EHS risks of nanotechnology: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is both a research and regulatory agency, is tasked with protecting human health and the environment. As a result, EPA determined that it needed to develop a better understanding of the potential human health and environmental risks from exposure to nanoscale materials and is therefore focusing its research efforts in this area, among others. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), another HHS agency, is generally responsible for overseeing the safety and effectiveness of drugs and devices for humans and animals, and of biological products for humans. The agency also is generally responsible for overseeing the safety of color additives, cosmetics, and foods, including food additives and dietary supplements. As a result, FDA is interested in understanding the potential risks posed by nanomaterials used in products under its jurisdiction. The Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a Department of Labor agency whose mission is, in part, to ensure the safety and health of workers by setting and enforcing standards and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. OSHA is interested in information that would aid in the application of existing health standards—including hazard communication, respiratory protection programs, and laboratory standards—to nanotechnology operations and help determine the need for new standards or guidance products. The mission of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is to protect the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products, including some that may be manufactured with nanomaterials. The NNI is managed within the framework of the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Committee on Technology. The NSTC is an organization through which the President coordinates science and technology policies across the federal government. The NSTC is managed by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), who also serves as the Science Advisor to the President. The NSTC’s Committee on Technology established the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) subcommittee to coordinate communication between the federal government’s multiagency nanoscale research and development programs. The NSET subcommittee is composed of representatives from any agencies that choose to participate in the NNI (as of January 2008, 25 agencies are involved) and serves as the primary interagency coordination mechanism for nanotechnology-related research. Supporting the NSET subcommittee, the National Nanotechnology Coordinating Office (NNCO) provides day-to-day technical guidance and administrative assistance to prepare multiagency planning, budget, and assessment documents. In addition, the NSET subcommittee has established a number of working groups to help better focus interagency attention and activity on specific issues, such as the Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) working group. This group was designed to provide for exchange of information among participating agencies; facilitate the identification, prioritization, and implementation of research; and promote communication to other federal and nonfederal entities. The NEHI working group also coordinates U.S. participation in international activities, including the programs of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Currently, NEHI membership consists of 16 research and regulatory agencies. See figure 2 for the NNI’s structure. Under the NNI, each agency funds research and development projects that support its own mission as well as the NNI’s goals. While agencies share information on their nanotechnology-related research goals with the NSET subcommittee and NEHI working group, each agency retains control over its decisions on the specific projects to fund. While the NNI was designed to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation and identify goals and priorities for nanotechnology research, it is not a research program. It has no funding or authority to dictate the nanotechnology research agenda for participating agencies. The NNI used its fiscal year 2000 strategic plan and its subsequent updates to delineate a strategy to support long-term nanoscale research and development, among other things. A key component of the 2000 plan was the identification of nine specific research and development areas— known as “grand challenges”—that highlighted federal research on applications of nanotechnology with the potential to realize significant economic, governmental, and societal benefits. Examples of potential breakthroughs cited in this strategic plan included developing materials that are 10 times stronger, but significantly lighter, than steel to make vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient; improving the speed and efficiency of computer transistors and memory chips by factors of millions; and developing methods to detect cancerous tumors that are only a few cells in size using nanoengineered contrast agents. In 2004, the NNI updated its strategic plan and described its goals as well as the investment strategy by which those goals were to be achieved. Consistent with the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, the NNI established major subject categories of research and development investment, called program component areas (PCA), that cut across the interests and needs of the participating agencies. These seven areas replaced the nine grand challenges and other nanotechnology investment areas that the agencies had previously used to categorize their nanotechnology research. Six of the seven areas are focused on the discovery, development, and deployment of nanotechnology. The seventh, societal dimensions, consists of two subareas—research on environmental, health, and safety; and education and research on ethical, legal, and other societal aspects of nanotechnology. The EHS portion of the societal dimensions PCA accounted for over $37 million in fiscal year 2006. See figure 3 for a break out of research funds used, by PCA. PCAs are intended to provide a means by which the NSET subcommittee, OSTP, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congress, and others may be informed of the relative federal investment in these key areas. PCAs also provide a structure by which the agencies that fund research and development can better direct and coordinate their activities. In response to increased concerns about the potential EHS risks of nanotechnology, in fiscal year 2005, the NSET subcommittee and the agencies agreed to separately report their research funding for each of the two components of the societal dimensions PCA.