Pollution Prevention through Nanotechnology Conference; Notice of
Public Meeting
[Federal Register: July 2, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 126)]
[Notices]
[Page 35991-35992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02jy07-41]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122; FRL-8136-4]
Pollution Prevention through Nanotechnology Conference; Notice of
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is convening a conference to better understand the
benefits that nanotechnology can offer by preventing pollution, and to
encourage development of nanotechnology that offers such benefits. A
multi-stakeholder Steering Committee has helped develop a scope and
agenda for the conference. Through a series of presentations and case
studies, this conference will help inform subsequent research and
commercialization of nanotechnology and nanomaterials that promote
pollution prevention in an environmentally responsible manner.
DATES: The conference will be held on September 25 and 26, 2007 .
You may register for the conference on or before September 14,
2007. See also Unit IV. for additional registration information.
To request accommodation of a disability, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATON CONTACT, preferably at least 10
days prior to the conference, to give EPA as much time as possible to
process your request.
Poster applications are due July 31, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn at
Key Bridge, 1900 Fort Myer Dr., Arlington, VA 22209.
See Unit III. for poster application submissions.
See Unit IV. for registration submissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact: Colby
Lintner, Regulatory Coordinator, Environmental Assistance Division
(7408M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 564-1404; e-mail: TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov.
For technical information contact: Clive Davies, Design for the
Environment Branch, Economics, Exposure, and Technology Division
(7406M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 564-3821; email: davies.clive@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
particular interest to those persons who manufacture, import, process,
or use nanoscale materials, especially to prevent pollution.
Representatives from industry; non-governmental organizations concerned
with the environment and human health; academia; and government may all
be interested in attending.
Since many entities may be interested, the Agency has not attempted
to fully describe all of the entities that may have an interest in this
matter. If you have questions regarding the applicability of this
action to a particular entity, consult the technical person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established a docket for this action under
docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122. All documents in the docket are
listed in the docket's index available at http://www.regulations.gov.
Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly
available, e.g., Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only
in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in
hard copy, at the OPPT Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in the EPA
Docket Center (EPA/DC) at Rm. 3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 Constitution
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room hours of
operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
Federal holidays. The telephone number of the EPA/DC Public Reading
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPPT Docket is
(202) 566-0280. Docket visitors are required to show photographic
identification, pass through a metal detector, and sign the EPA visitor
log. All visitor bags are processed through an X-ray machine and
subject to search. Visitors will be provided an EPA/DC badge that must
be visible at all times in the building and returned upon departure. 2.
Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register''
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr All documents relating to this
conference are available at http://www.epa.gov/oppt/nano.
II. Background
A. Pollution Prevention
Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source
by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or
less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-
using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.
B. Beneficial Characteristics
The unique and potentially useful properties of nanomaterials
include dramatically increased surface areas and reactivities, improved
strength-weight ratios, increased electrical conductivity, and changes
in color and opacity. Materials designed to take advantage of these
properties are finding application in a variety of areas, such as
electronics, medicine, and environmental protection.
This conference is focused on three major areas of pollution
prevention:
• Products. Products that are less toxic, less polluting,
and wear-resistant.
• Processes. Processes that are more efficient and waste-reducing.
• Energy and resource efficiency. Processes and products that use
less energy and fewer raw materials because of greater efficiency.
To emphasize the importance of the responsible development \1\ of
[[Page 35992]]
nanotechnology, conference speakers and attendees are encouraged to
apply ``life-cycle thinking'' as they make presentations or attend
conference sessions. Life-cycle thinking involves consideration of
environmental and human health endpoints such as toxicity and exposure
that occur over the material's life cycle. Design, production, use, and
disposal are all relevant to life-cycle thinking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A Matter of Size: Triennial Review of the National
Nanotechnology Initiative, 2006, The National Academies Press,
``Responsible Development'', page 73, ``...responsible development
of nanotechnology can be characterized as the balancing of efforts
to maximize the technology's positive contributions and minimize its
negative consequences. Thus, responsible development involves an
examination both of applications and of potential implications. It
implies a commitment to develop and use technology to help meet the
most pressing human and societal needs, while making every
reasonable effort to anticipate and mitigate adverse implications or
unintended consequences.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The questions below are intended to focus presentations and
discussions at the conference. Answers to these questions could help
guide subsequent work in P2 through nanotechnology.
1. Which nanotechnologies show the greatest promise for preventing
pollution?
Considerations:
• This question should be viewed through the lens of life-
cycle thinking to minimize the possibility of unintended consequences.
• Which pollution prevention applications are the most
likely to find real-world applications?
• What barriers exist to the adoption of nanotechnology-
enabled pollution prevention applications?
2. What are the most promising areas of research on pollution
prevention applications of nanotechnologies?
Considerations:
• Which research areas could improve our understanding of
the full life-cycle of nanomaterials?
• How can the beneficial properties of engineered products
of nanotechnology such as increased surface activity, greater
conductivity, improved strength-weight ratio, altered optical
properties (changes in color or opacity), and flame retardancy be used
to improve materials and products and reduce the production of
pollutants at their source?
3. What recommendations do conference participants have for
promoting and encouraging pollution prevention in the development and
application of nanotechnology?
Considerations:
• What actions could be taken, and by whom?
• What mechanisms, programs, or associations could promote
the research, development, and adoption of such applications?
• What role can EPA programs play?
III. Call for Posters
Posters are an excellent forum for authors to present informally,
yet in a highly visible fashion, their most recent work regarding
pollution prevention through nanotechnology. A poster session provides
an opportunity for authors to directly communicate with participants of
the conference and engage in detailed one-on-one discussions.
Successful posters should reflect the goals of the Pollution Prevention
through Nanotechnology Conference. We encourage you to submit an entry
for the poster session in the area of nanotechnology products,
nanotechnology processes, or nanotechnology energy/resource efficiency.
Posters with a focus on safer chemistries through use of nanotechnology
are especially encouraged. Because of space constraints, a limited
number of posters will be accepted in each area. To submit an entry for
the poster session, please send a short description (less than one-
page) of the poster you would like to display. The description should
identify which category your poster fits within (products, processes,
or efficient use of resources), how it responds to the concepts raised
in the three questions listed above and how it addresses responsible
development, and whether environmental benefits can be quantified, such
as reduction of use of hazardous chemicals or energy or resource
savings. Poster applications are due July 31, 2007. Please submit
poster applications to the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
IV. How Can I Request to Attend this Conference?
You may register for the conference electronically through EPA's
website, at http://www.epa.gov/oppt/nano by September 14, 2007. Advance
requests will assist in planning adequate seating; however, members of
the public may attend without prior registration. You may also submit a
request to attend this conference to the technical person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Do not submit any information in your
request that is considered CBI. Requests to attend the conference,
identified by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2004-0122, must be received
on or before September 14, 2007.
List of Subjects Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pollution
prevention, Nanotechnology, Nanoscale materials.
Dated: June 25, 2007.
Charles M. Auer,
Director, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.
[FR Doc. E7-12764 Filed 6-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}