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nano-governance
developments
Voluntary
measures in nano risk
governance
The
topic of this year's International NanoRegulation Conference
was voluntary measures in the identification, assessment,
control and communication of nanotechnology risks.
The
conference, which took place on 16-17 September, discussed the
concepts, design principles and experiences made with
voluntary measures as well as a new approach to international
coordination on the field.
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US
FDA public meeting on nanotech task force
report
The
US Food and Drug Administration held, early September, a
public meeting in view of gathering stakeholder views on the
findings of the Nanotechnology
Task Force Report. Product-specific
discussions addressed medical devices, prescription drugs,
food additives and contact materials, dietary supplements as
well as cosmetics.
In July, the report concluded that
nanoscale materials present regulatory challenges similar to
those posed by products using other emerging technologies, but
noted that these challenges may be magnified due to the size
of nano materials. It therefore urged timely development of a
transparent and consistent regulatory pathway and listed a
number of recommendations to address regulatory challenges
presented in particular by products using nanotech but not
subject to pre-market authorization requirement.
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UK
voluntary nanotech risk reporting scheme
closes
The
UK Department for
Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
A voluntary
reporting scheme allowing industry and
research organisations to provide the UK government with
information relevant to understanding the potential risks
posed by free engineered nanoscale materials comes to an end
in September. The scheme, running since September 2006, has
aimed to help the UK government to
gather evidence on potential risks of these materials in order
for it to move towards appropriate controls.
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Municipal
action on nanomaterials in US
Following
the Berkeley City Council ordinance, which imposed in December
2006 a reporting obligation on facilities manufacturing or
using nanomaterials, the City Council of Cambridge has become
the second US city to vote for
a set of recommendations for a municipal health and safety
policy on nanomaterials.
These recommendations were
initially set out in a report
jointly prepared by the city's health department and
nanomaterials advisory committee and are aimed at providing an
oversight of local nanotechnology activities to protect human
health.
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Dutch
government releases nano action
plan
Dutch
Ministry of Economic Affairs adopted in early July a
nanotechnology action plan considering ethical aspects, risks
and societal dialogue on nanotech, as well as R&D and
innovation on the field.
Following
an analysis of existing legislation, the action plan concludes
that no new separate ‘nano’ laws are needed for the time
being. It then outlines a number of proposals and actions to
be taken to manage risks, R&D and communicate nanotech
with the society.
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Report
proposes nanotech regulatory blueprint for US
administration
Nanotechnology
oversight: an agenda for the next
administration -report, published in July,
calls for the White House and federal agency policymakers to
maximize the use of existing laws and define nanomaterials as
new substances under federal toxics and food laws in order to
improve nanotechnology oversight.
Drafted by a former
official of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), J. Clarence (Terry)
Davies, the report lays out a clear regulatory roadmap on
nanotech for the next US president and
administration. It namely describes the immediate as well as
long term steps necessary to deal with the current
shortcomings of nanotech governance.
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EU
chemicals legislation to assess carbon
nanotubes
After
a controversy between the EU member states and the European
Commission over whether or not to provide a bloc exemption for
safety testing of carbon and graphite substances in the EU
chemical legislation REACH, the European Commission decided to
delete such exemption early June.
Companies selling
carbon and graphite, including carbon nanotubes, will thus
need to submit a full health and safety data on these
substances as they apply for market authorisations.
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US
nanotech initiative amended
The
National
Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of
2008, drafted by the US House of
Representatives' science and technology committee was passed
to the Senate early June.
The act calls on the White
House to toughen the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)
by increasing its commitment to environmental health and
safety research. If adopted by the Senate, it would also
designate within the White House a coordinator for societal
dimensions of nanotech, responsible for implementing the
plan.
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Commission
presents nanomaterials regulatory
review
The
European Commission's regulatory review of existing European
legislation concluded that the current EU legislative
framework covers in principle the potential health, safety and
environmental risks in relation to
nanomaterials.
However, the current laws may need to be
modified as the depth of scientific knowledge on nanomaterials
increases, it stated.
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Canadian
experts call for more data to assess safety of
nanomaterials
While
the panel concluded that too little is known to assess the
overall human and environmental risks posed by the
introduction of nanotech products into society, it found no
evidence that nano-based products currently on the market in
Canada escape
existing risk management strategies. The expert panel was
appointed by the Council of Canadian Academies to examine the
state of knowledge regarding nanomaterial properties and their
risks potentially underpinning regulatory perspectives for
research, risk assessment and surveillance.
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Learning
from past technologies to ensure safe introduction of
nanotech
An
expert study published in Nature
Nanotechnology argues that industry,
government and scientists may be failing to learn from lessons
drawn from past technologies' "late lessons from early
warnings" such as introduction of toxic PCBs or ozone-damaging
halocarbons.
The authors of the analysis argue that
current risk research strategies are weak and not leading to
clear answers to critical safety questions or bridging clear
knowledge gaps. They also write that collaboration on risk
research, environment and health monitoring is hampered by
disciplinary and institutional barriers and lacks engagement
from public.
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Trade
Unions call for REACH amendment to cover
nanomaterials
European
labour unions have called on the European Commission to amend
the bloc's chemicals regulation (REACH) on chemicals to better
protect workers against nanomaterials throughout their
lifecycle. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
argues that workers all along the production chain from
laboratories through to manufacturing, transport, shop
shelves, cleaning, maintenance and waste management are
exposed to nanomaterials and calls on the precautionary
principle to be applied to nanotechnologies.
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