Posted: December 25, 2008 |
Regional government in Australia creates nanotechnology advisory committee |
(Nanowerk News) A nanotechnology advisory committee will be appointed to consider recommendations of a recent parliamentary inquiry, the New South Wales (NSW) Government says.
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NSW Chief Scientist Professor Mary O'Kane has been asked to set up the committee, which will explore a number of the 18 recommendations coming from the inquiry, science minister Jodi McKay said.
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"This was the first parliamentary inquiry into nanotechnology in Australia and one that looked specifically at both the benefits and potential risks of nano materials," Ms McKay said.
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"It is important we capitalise on this inquiry, and fully explore the viability of nanotechnology in NSW."
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Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of matter at an atomic or molecular scale, between 1 to 100 nanometres or the size of 1/100,000th the diameter of a human hair.
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"It can be applied to many areas including medicine, chemistry, the environment, energy efficiency, aerospace, textiles, cosmetics and foods," Prof O'Kane said.
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"At this extremely small scale, material properties such as colour, magnetism and electricity conduction may change, leading to the development of new technologies."
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NSW will work with a range of groups to ensure safe working and living environments are maintained while researching the technology, Ms McKay said.
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"It is important that we ensure the regulations and policies that are in place to manage manufactured materials and products also relate to nano-sized particles," she said.
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The Government's response to the inquiry and its recommendations is due at the end of April 2009.
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The parliamentary inquiry into nanotechnology was conducted by the legislative council standing committee on state development.
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