Nanotechnology Project

Topics

Looking Ahead

  • publications/archive February 26, 2008 Application of the Toxics Release Inventory to Nanomaterials This research brief examines whether the legal authorities that establish the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in the Emergency Planning and Community-Right to-Know Act (EPCRA) could be applied to nanomaterials. Although several organizations have published analyses of whether specific environmental laws could be used to regulate nanomaterials, none of these reviews has examined EPCRA or TRI in any detail.
  • publications/archive February 19, 2008 Applying the Chemical Policy Options to Emerging Technologies and Materials: Adaptations and Challenges Can the template developed in this report for chemicals policy reform be applied in assessing the hazards of emerging technologies and what considerations are involved for state governments?
  • news/archive February 19, 2008 Federal Nanotech Risk Research Plan Still Comes Up Short An improved but still flawed government-wide plan for nanotechnology risk research is the result of a broken system. Federally-funded studies essential to managing possible risks from this cutting-edge technology should be guided by a top-down strategy tied to projected commercialization, expected human and environmental exposures, and the regulatory decision-making process.
  • publications/archive February 15, 2008 Nanotechnology Field Observations: Scouting the New Industrial West “Note from the Field” article for the Journal of Cleaner Production.
  • news/archive February 11, 2008 Know Your Nano? Free iPods To Those With High “Nano IQ”! Five free iPod Nanos are up for grabs! To celebrate the launch of our redesigned website, the Project is sponsoring a “Nano-IQ” contest. Winners will be randomly selected from those who successfully complete the five-question quiz. - UPDATE: Winners Announced!
  • news/archive February 6, 2008 European Commission Gives Grant To Investigate Transatlantic Oversight Of Nanotechnology Researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Chatham House, Environmental Law Institute and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, have been awarded a $587,000 European Commission grant to conduct an international research project on regulating nanotechnologies in the European Union and United States
  • publications/archive February 4, 2008 Biased Assimilation, Polarization, and Cultural Credibility: An Experimental Study of Nanotechnology Risk Perceptions When the public considers competing arguments about a new technology’s potential risks and benefits, people will tend to agree with the expert whose values are closest to their own, no matter what position the expert takes. According to this study, the same will hold true for nanotechnology.
  • news/archive January 31, 2008 How Will Government Spur Technological Innovation In The 21st Century? At the January 22nd Congressional Nano Caucus briefing, project director David Rejeski recommended the establishment of a federal venture capital fund to speed the development and commercialization of green nanotechnology applications. This follows the release of a white paper on government-run VC funds by the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Foresight and Governance Project.
  • news/archive January 28, 2008 EPA Takes First Step In Filling Nanotech Information Gaps The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published today in the Federal Register its plan for the Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The plan takes a positive first step by offering industry, non-governmental organizations and other groups the opportunity to voluntarily submit safety data on engineered nanoscale materials.
  • news/archive January 8, 2008 Food and Drug Law Institute(FDLI), Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Co-Sponsor Major Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy Nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $50 billion in manufactured goods last year, according to Lux Research. By 2014, the market will grow to $2.6 trillion. Yet, despite this rapid commercialization, no nano-specific regulation exists anywhere in the world. Most regulatory agencies remain in an information-gathering mode—lacking the legal and scientific tools, information and resources they need to adequately oversee expediential nanotechnology market growth.
  • publications/archive January 4, 2008 Looking Back on the First Two Years This report reviews the Project’s major activities, key contributions, and most significant impacts over its first two years.
  • publications/archive December 3, 2007 Feynman, Voltaire and Beckett on Nanotechnology This presentation examines flaws in the assertion by the U.S. government that the existing regulatory system is adequate to address risks from nanotechnologies and explores actions that need to be taken to help foster successful commercialization of nano products.
  • news/archive August 8, 2007 Plenty of Clean Water at the NanoFrontier A new podcast episode of Trips to the NanoFrontier examines how Eric Hoek and his engineering research team at UCLA are working to dramatically reduce the cost and energy needed for desalination and wastewater treatment. A companion issue of the NanoFrontiers newsletter Developing Story: Nanotechnology and Low-Income Nations examines the question of whether developing nations will fully share in the anticipated benefits of nanotech. audio
  • events/archive July 26, 2007 Where Does the Nano Go? New Report on End-of-Life Regulation of Nanotechnologies Please join us on July 26, 2007, for the release of this report featuring the authors, along with Leslie Carothers, President of the Environmental Law Institute, and David Rejeski, Director, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. The discussion will focus on the end-of-life regulation of nanotechnologies. video
  • news/archive July 26, 2007 Where Does the Nano Go? New Report on End-of-Life Regulation of Nanotechnologies All materials and products eventually come to the end of their useful life, and those made with nanotechnology are no different.This means that engineered nanomaterials will ultimately enter the waste stream and find their way into landfills or incinerators—and eventually into the air, soil and water. A new report authored by legal experts from the Environmental Law Institute addresses these issues. video