Project News
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July 29, 2009
5 years on - a beacon or just a landmark?
A new report from The Responsible Nano Forum marks the 5 year anniversary of the release of the seminal report from the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties.
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July 27, 2009
Do You Know Nano? Internship Opportunities at the Project
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is a fast-paced science policy group within the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. Current openings for part-time internships.
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July 8, 2009
Contaminated Site Remediation: Are Nanomaterials the Answer? First Map of Global Nanoremediation Sites Available Online
A new review article appearing in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) co-authored by Dr. Todd Kuiken, a research associate for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), focuses on the use of nanomaterials for environmental cleanup. It provides an overview of current practices; research findings; societal issues; potential environment, health, and safety implications; and possible future directions for nanoremediation. The authors conclude that the technology could be an effective and economically viable alternative for some current site cleanup practices, but potential risks remain poorly understood.
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April 28, 2009
Former EPA Official Calls For New Environmental & Consumer Protection Agency
Existing health and safety agencies are unable to cope with the risk assessment, standard setting and oversight challenges of advancing nanotechnology. In a landmark report, Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology, J. Clarence Davies highlights the need for a new agency to address current forms of pollution and to deal with the health and environmental impacts of the technically complex products promised by rapid 21st century scientific advances.
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February 26, 2009
Revisiting the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976
Today the U.S. House of Representatives began the process of re-examining the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. According to the the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, “The hearing will address critical gaps in the statute and explore how these gaps hinder effective chemical safety policy in the United States.”
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February 11, 2009
Stimulus Debate Highlights Need for Focus on Nanotech Risks
The nearly $800 billion stimulus package being debated in Congress contains a number of measures intended to improve information technology, infrastructure and the energy economy in the United States – all areas that will be greatly aided by nanotechnology. Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation that makes the importance of understanding the possible risks posed by engineered nanomaterials a centerpiece of the goverment’s reauthorization of funding for nanotechnology research. The bill highlights the growing need to learn more about the possible environmental, health and safety dangers posed by some nanoscale materials.
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February 4, 2009
Nanotechnology and the Consumer
What is nanotechnology? How will it affect our lives? And, why should we care? These are just a few of the questions addressed in Talking Nano, a wide-ranging 6-DVD series released by the Boston Museum of Science. The set that includes presentations by noted researchers with a consumer products lecture by Project director David Rejeski.
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January 28, 2009
World’s First Mandatory National Nanotech Requirement Pending
Canada is reportedly planning in February to become the first nation in the world to require companies to detail their use of engineered nanomaterials. The information gathered under the requirement will be used to evaluate the risks of engineered nanomaterials and will help to develop appropriate safety measures to protect human health and the environment.
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January 27, 2009
Ethical Evaluations of Nanotechnology
Recent action in Congress to reauthorize the U.S. federal nanotechnology research program offers the chance to address the social and ethical issues concerning the emerging scientific field, experts say. “It is crucial to address social and ethical issues now as we consider both the substantial potential risks of nanotechnology and its possible significant contributions to our well-being and environmental sustainability,” says Ronald Sandler, Northeastern University philosophy professor and author of a new report released today by the Project.
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January 15, 2009
Nanotech Safety High on Congress’ Priority List
The House Science and Technology Committee introduced legislation today that highlights the growing attention on Capitol Hill to the need to strengthen federal efforts to learn more about the potential environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks posed by engineered nanomaterials.Introduction of the bill comes only months after J. Clarence (Terry) Davies authored a report that makes a series of recommendations for improving federal risk research and oversight of engineered nanomaterials at EPA, the FDA and the CPSC.
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January 14, 2009
Getting Your Daily Dose of Nano?
The ability of the FDA to regulate the safety of dietary supplements using nanomaterials is severely limited by lack of information, lack of resources and the agency’s lack of statutory authority in certain critical areas, according to: A Hard Pill To Swallow: Barriers to Effective FDA Regulation of Nanotechnology-Based Dietary Supplements, a new report by former FDA officials William B. Schultz and Lisa Barclay.
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December 18, 2008
Experts Argue Nano Food-Additives Require New Oversight
Nanotechnology policy experts are urging that food additives containing nanoscale materials be subject to new safety testing to ensure that their use does not pose unintended risks. The call comes as nanotechnology emerges as a major regulatory challenge facing the incoming Obama administration.
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December 10, 2008
Panel Blasts Federal Nanotech Risk Research Strategy
A National Research Council committee today issued a highly critical report describing serious shortfalls in the Bush administration’s strategy to better understand the environment, health and safety risks of nanotechnology and to effectively manage those potential risks. The report calls for a significantly revamped national strategic plan that will minimize potential risks so that innovation will flourish and society will reap nanotechnology’s benefits.
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October 14, 2008
The Frontiers of Nanotechnology
The future of how the world communicates, and how we power our lives, will likely come from the same source: nanotechnology. According to the latest NanoFrontiers newsletter and Trips to the Nanofrontier podcast, nanotechnology will be central to developing and using new electronics and energy technologies in the 21st Century.
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