CTA urges US Senate and House of Representatives to increase funding for health and safety research on nanotechnology

March 14, 2007

CTA strongly urged the US Senate and US House of Representatives to significantly increase appropriations directed to research on the health and environmental implications of nanotechnology. The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has a FY07 budget of more than $1.3 billion,1 and the proposed 2008 budget provides 1.45 billion, raising the total investment since the NNI was established in 2001 to 8.3 billion and more than tripling the annual investment since 2001.2 However, by the NNI’s own estimate, health and environmental implications (EHS) research will receive just 58 million, or a mere 4% of the amount.3 This marginal increase over the 2007 EHS level it is not sufficient: Congress must increase EHS research funding substantially, to at least 100 million annually