Symposium on Nanosafety challenges

Prague was the setting for a two-day conference (November 29–30) on nanosafety challenges. Objectives were to convene key players in this field from EU countries and the USA, together with Central European researchers and to create a networking opportunity for future collaboration. The Central European scientific community – working on nanosafety related issues – will be integrated with leading EU-US efforts on NANOSAFETY. Nanotechnologies are developing apace, but assessing and managing the potential risks posed by manufactured nanomaterials are relatively new issues. Because well-known substances display different physical and chemical properties at the nano level, the nano prefix has had to be added to the fields of toxicology, ecotoxicology, and exposure and risk assessment. Conference speakers described their areas of expertise in light of the specific complexity and uncertainty which nanotechno-logies bring.