Dr. Vladimir Murashov is a Senior Scientist in the Office of the Director of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety in Washington, D.C. Dr. Murashov received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada in 1998. He completed his postdoctoral research in University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada in 2001, when he joined NIOSH as a scientist conducting computational chemistry studies. Dr. Murashov is a globally recognized expert in nanotechnology safety and health. He serves as a subject matter expert on various panels and advisory boards and is frequently invited to make presentations at major international conferences on nanotechnology. Dr. Murashov has been a member of U.S. government inter-agency working groups on nanotechnology representing NIOSH since 2004. He leads nanotechnology safety groups in International Organization for Standardization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and World Health Organization. He has written numerous articles in the area of materials chemistry and nanomaterial safety and health.
World Health Organization is developing Guidelines on "Protecting Workers from Potential Risks of Manufactured Nanomaterials." It aims to facilitate improvements in occupational safety and health of nanotechnologies in a broad range of manufacturing and social environments by incorporating elements of risk assessment and risk management framework and contextual issues in the guidelines structure. The guidelines are developed through a systematic review process, which includes identifying critical guideline questions, conducting systematic reviews of literature for each of the questions, and development of guideline recommendations based on the systematic reviews. These guidelines will encompass nanomaterial prioritization based on their potential risk; nanomaterial hazard, exposure and risk assessment; and risk mitigation measures for nanomaterials in the workplace. Challenges and achievements in the development of these guidelines will be described in this presentation.