Report Raises Concerns Regarding Nanotech Regulation

With increased interest in the potential for nanotechnology products – and the fact that some are actually now in production – a newly published report (PEN Report) by the Washington-based Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies discusses the question whether regulation of the field is required in the public interest. The PEN Report, Managing the Effects of Nanotechnology, and authored by Clarence Davies, notes that most statutes or programs do not address the fact that nanomaterials (matter measured by a number of nanometers, or one millionth of a millimeter) behave differently from materials of ordinary size. Says the PEN Report,

"The assumption built into most environmental statutes and the health ones as well is that there is a pretty direct correlation between volume or weight on the one hand and toxicity and exposure on the other hand. That isn't true for nano[materials]."

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a draft white paper on the environmental regulation of nanotechnologies. The white paper echoes some of the concerns raised in the PEN Report. One problem the EPA white paper identifies is that the nomenclature in the existing statutes and regulations do not specifically address nanotechnology, so it would be unclear whether a particular substance would have to be reported to the EPA, or would otherwise be subject to regulation. For a number of news links, see the following: http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=13343 http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2006/01/debating_nanote.html http://www.physorg.com/news9983.html For the EPA White Paper, visit: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/nano/publications/whitepaper12022005.pdf For the text of the PEN Report, see: http://www.nanotechproject.org/index.php?s=file_download&id=30 Summary by: James Kosa