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The government has urged the UK research community to identify and manage the potential risks of nanotechnology before harm is done to human health or the environment.

Applications in packaging materials, paints and coatings, medicine, cosmetics and personal care products have already shown the benefits of the technology, but assurance is also needed that the applications are safe to use.

Following the publication of the government's second research report on manufactured nanomaterials yesterday (19 December), environment minister Phil Woolas said nanotechnologies presented "a real opportunity" for the UK economy, but more research was needed to ensure products were safe.

Government departments will have funded around £10m of research into nanotechnology from 2005 to 2008, but the amount of work required to fill all the gaps in the understanding of potential risks is "very large", the report said.

The Council for Science and Technology is formulating short-term toxicity protocols, which focus on the types of nanomaterials currently on the market and being used by industry.

However, the report said there was a longer-term need for research into the "toxicology, health and environmental impacts and environmental fate of nanomaterials".

The government plans to introduce a labelling scheme for manufactured nanoparticles and products containing them, as well as UK national standards for their safe handling and disposal and specification.

Click here to download the report 'Characterising the potential risks posed by engineered nanoparticles: a second government research'.