| Summary: |
This report provides an overview of California's nanotechnology industry, which had 1,400 companies from 1990 to 2008. It is estimated that California will have 90,000 nano-related jobs by 2015. California also has numerous nanotechnology research institutes, including the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI), a joint venture between universities. CNSI has research priorities in energy, environment, health (medicine), and information technology industry areas. CNSI also partners with small firms to offer research and development services at CNSI facilities. California is leading the country in nanotechnology regulation; California has the only mandatory reporting requirement in the world. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has launched the California Nanotechnology Initiative (CNI), which requests that California manufacturers of nanomaterials supply data used for safety assessments. So far the DTSC has launched a call-in for data pertaining to carbon nanotubes (see report IDs 100 and 453). Planned call-in topics include nano silver, reactive nanometals, dendrimers, and quantum dots. State law also requires the DTSC to adopt regulations by January 2011 that establish a process for identifying "chemicals of concern," which may include nano products. |