EPA foregoes opportunity to improve nanotechnology oversightJuly 13, 2007Action needed urgently to ensure public and market confidence in safety WASHINGTON, DC-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its current thinking on whether a nanoscale material is a "new" or "existing" chemical substance under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In the document, TSCA Inventory Status of Nanoscale Substances-General Approach, EPA states that it will maintain its practice of determining whether nanoscale substances qualify as new chemicals under TSCA on a case-by-case basis. According to former EPA official and Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) senior advisor J. Clarence Davies, "The agency's current practice is inadequate to deal with nanotechnology. It is essential that EPA move quickly to recognize the novel biological and ecological characteristics of nanoscale materials. It can do this only by using the 'new uses' provisions of TSCA, a subject not mentioned in the EPA's inventory document. With the approach outlined by EPA and because of the weaknesses in the law, the agency is not even able to identify which substances are nanomaterials, much less determine whether they pose a hazard." Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies science advisor Andrew Maynard underlined that "EPA's approach ignores the scientific research evidence to date that different nanostructures with the same molecular identity present different hazards." Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing sector of the economy that will represent an estimated $2.6 trillion in manufactured goods by 2014, or about 15 percent of global manufactured goods output. In addition to the TSCA document, the agency issued papers for public comment pertaining to a proposed voluntary industry Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP)-an effort to encourage industry to provide the agency on a voluntary basis with scientific information about the risk management practices now used by manufacturers of existing nanomaterials. "Starting the Stewardship program will be a positive step toward filling in some of the information gaps facing the agency. But there should be an interplay between modifying TSCA, such as promulgating a significant new use rule for nanomaterials, and the voluntary program. A sequential approach will leave nanomaterials unregulated for far too long, and will also be less productive than if the two efforts proceed in tandem," said Davies. "This voluntary program for nanomaterials is already behind schedule. The British government put in place a Voluntary Reporting Scheme in September 2006, and appears to be on a faster track to develop appropriate controls and to give a predictable nanotechnology regulatory environment for industry and consumers," he continued. "The first generation of nanotechnology applications and products is here. In an inventory maintained by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, there are now over 500 manufacturer-identified nanotechnology consumer products being sold," said Dr. Maynard; see: www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts. "This figure does not include nanotechnology products on the market but not identified as such, or the hundreds of nano raw materials, intermediate components, and industrial equipment items used by manufacturers today. In addition, second generation uses-in electronics, sensors, targeted drugs and active nanostructures-have already begun." In May 2007, Davies authored the first in-depth analysis of EPA's nano-tech readiness, EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century. This Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies report is available at http://www.nanotechproject.org/124/. The report recommends more than 25 actions that need to be taken-by EPA, Congress, the President, the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and the nanotech industry-to improve the oversight of nanotechnologies. In an opinion piece published in the Boston Globe on Saturday (July 7, 2007), Davies and EPA's first administrator William Ruckelshaus wrote, "Today's smallest materials pose a big opportunity and huge challenge for the Environmental Protection Agency-But what do we know about nanotechnology, about its effects on human health and the environment" Not much. What are we doing to get these answers" Not enough. Can the existing regulatory system protect the public from potential problems with nanotechnology" Not adequately. It is time for the EPA to step into the breach and develop a research and regulatory framework for nanotechnology that helps us achieve its promise while avoiding or greatly minimizing any possible dangers." See: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/07/07/an_epa_for_the_21st_century/ Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies |
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| Related Nanotechnology Current Events and Nanotechnology News Articles New study confirms exotic electric properties of graphene First, it was the soccer-ball-shaped molecules dubbed buckyballs. Then it was the cylindrically shaped nanotubes. Now, the hottest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: a remarkably flat molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal rings much like molecular chicken wire. Behavior modification could ease concerns about nanoparticles In an advance that could help ease health and environmental concerns about the emerging nanotechnology industry, scientists are reporting development of technology for changing the behavior of nanoparticles in municipal sewage treatment plants - their main gateway into the environment. UT Knoxville and ORNL researchers turn algae into high-temperature hydrogen source In the quest to make hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel source, researchers have been stymied about how to create usable hydrogen that is clean and sustainable without relying on an intensive, high-energy process that outweighs the benefits of not using petroleum to power vehicles. Caltech scientists develop DNA origami nanoscale breadboards for carbon nanotube circuits In work that someday may lead to the development of novel types of nanoscale electronic devices, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has combined DNA's talent for self-assembly with the remarkable electronic properties of carbon nanotubes, thereby suggesting a solution to the long-standing problem of organizing carbon nanotubes into nanoscale electronic circuits. New 'finFET' promising for smaller transistors, more powerful chips Purdue University researchers are making progress in developing a new type of transistor that uses a finlike structure instead of the conventional flat design, possibly enabling engineers to create faster and more compact circuits and computer chips. Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident. Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat Whether it's magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) giving an army of 'therapeutically armed' white blood cells direction to invade a deadly tumour's territory, or the use of mNPs to target specific nerve channels and induce nerve-led behaviour (such as the life-dependant thumping of our hearts), mNPs have come a long way in the past decade. Breakthrough in industrial-scale nanotube processing Rice University scientists today unveiled a method for the industrial-scale processing of pure carbon-nanotube fibers that could lead to revolutionary advances in materials science, power distribution and nanoelectronics. An exquisite container In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or faceted gemstone that can be broken to empty the ring's contents. It is invariably enormous - so large it is rather odd nobody seems to notice it. University of Cincinnati researchers create all-electric spintronics A multidisciplinary team of UC researchers is the first to find an innovative and novel way to control an electron's spin orientation using purely electrical means. More Nanotechnology Current Events and Nanotechnology News Articles |
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