Nano Safety and Risk Management

Coordinators

Dr. Wannee CHINSIRIKUL (Thailand)
[email protected]

Dr. Paul WRIGHT (Australia)
[email protected]

1. Asia Nano Forum provided travel sponsorship for speakers from the region to attend the Nanosafety Technical Forum at NanoThailand 2018. Asia Nano Forum has also committed to sponsor speakers to attend the Nanosafety Technical Forum at Nano Thailand 2020 – due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and global situation, Nano Thailand 2020 is now postponed to 2021.
2. Asia Nano Forum provided travel sponsorship for participants to attend the: 1st EU-Asia Dialogue on Nanosafety, in Tehran, Iran in 2017; 2nd EU-Asia Dialogue on Nanosafety, in Vienna, Austria in 2018; and 3rd EU-Asia Dialogue on Nanosafety, in Bangkok, Thailand in 2019.
3. Asia Nano Forum has provided travel sponsorship of participants and assisted in the promotion of the Inter-Lab Comparison program, organized by NANOTEC in Bangkok, Thailand in 2018 and 2019.
4. Asia Nano Forum  awarded the Asia Nano Safe Prize ($US 500) to the Best Presentation by graduate students from an ANF member economy at the 11th International Particle Toxicology Conference (IPTC2016), in Singapore in 2016.

The 1st EU-Asia Dialogue on Nanosafety was held in Tehran, Iran on 28 November 2017. The aim of the “Asia-EU dialogue” event was the exchange of information, knowledge and experience, as well as discussing the possibility of sharing resources and coordination, and the potential for harmonization of activities and programs related to nanosafety and certification between the major players from EU and Asia.

The 2nd EU-Asia Dialogue on Nanosafety was held in Vienna, Austria on 29 October 2018. The purpose of the dialogue was to gain insights on both actual and future human and environmental nanosafety research, and then to have discussions in breakout sessions about how to progress towards thematic collaboration. The meeting included presentations on European projects from the EU NanoSafety Cluster. 

The 3rd EU-Asia Dialogue on Nanosafety: Occupational Exposures to Manufactured Nanomaterials (MN) and Waste Disposal was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 18 March 2019. This dialogue session discussed various issues related to both occupational exposures and waste disposal of manufactured nanoproducts. This theme came from discussions with the OECD and CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) program, and focused on the life cycle assessment of nanoparticle manufacturing, including exposure of workers, manufacturers using nanoparticles as raw products to produce consumers’ goods, and waste disposal.

The symposia on “Standards and Harmonization: ASEAN Challenges and Opportunities”, organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, National Institute of Metrology (Thailand) and National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) was attended by 15 ASEAN representatives, 5 speakers, and 40 public participants from research agencies, academia and the private sector. The topic of standards and harmonization is very appropriate given the push for globalization of trade and commerce. The EU is ASEAN’s 2nd largest trading partner after China, accounting for around 13% of ASEAN trade. Given the global situation its ongoing trade tensions, it is in ASEAN’s interest to increase trade with our EU partners. It is important that each side understands what is expected when it comes to discussing matters related to accepted standards and regulations pertaining to trade between ASEAN and the EU.

On 12 December 2018, NANOTEC organized the Nanosafety Technical Forum at Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani, Thailand. The event was held in conjunction with the 6th Thailand International Nanotechnology Conference (NanoThailand 2018). The objective of this forum was to realize and understand the importance of nanosafety.
The extraordinary chemical and physical properties of materials at the nanometer scale enable novel applications, ranging from structural strength enhancement and energy conservation, to antimicrobial properties and self-cleaning surfaces. There were six speakers from ANF members (Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan) participating the event, supported by ANF sponsorship for travel expenses.