Paper Title
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETYRISK MANAGEMENT OF NANO WORKPLACES IN MALAYSIA

Abstract
The Malaysian 8th government plan advised investigation into the development of nanotechnology and its strategic research programs as a prioritized area. Therefore, to pave this road with a more sustainable approach grasping earnest demands for new legislation to develop nano workers' current health and safety regulations is critical. Hence, the present research concentrated on some of the urgent needs in health and safety risk management areas neglected in today's Malaysian nanotechnology workplaces. We evaluated recent risk management and decision-making of nanotechnology health and safety procedures by employing the international risk governance council (IRGC) framework for the first time in this context in Malaysia. Investigations included: a) conducting semi-structured interviews (n = 20) with representatives of several nanotechnology platforms, examining workplace safety regulations and laws, and b) reviewing relevant governmental published safety documents. Data analysis in this study performed thematically. Our results demonstrated that Malaysian nano-workers, in both sections of academic research laboratories and industries, need more appropriate health and safety regulations compatible with progress in the field. Hence, to conclude the outcomes of this study, we drafted policy advice for the improvement of the current occupational health and safety nanotechnology situation focusing on the following areas: policy formulation, knowledge transfer, and infrastructure enhancement. Furthermore, these findings highlight the augmentation of cross-sectional communication to bridge the existing gaps toward a more coherent future policy and help execution of the latest DOSH guideline in Malaysia. Keywords - Nanotechnology, risk management, safety and health, sustainable progress, DOSH guideline, IRGC framework, policy advice, Malaysia.