Author: Nertila Kuraj Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 0429578822 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 278
Book Description
REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology presents a thorough and comprehensive legal analysis on the status of nanoscale chemicals under the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction) regulation, asking whether it effectively safeguards human health and environmental protection. This book examines the European Commission’s claim that REACH offers the best possible framework for the risk management of nanomaterials. Through a detailed and meticulous analysis of the four phases of REACH, Kuraj assesses the capacity of the Regulation to protect human health and the environment against the potential harms associated with exposure to nanomaterials, and draws attention to the ways in which the specificities of nanoscale chemicals are (not) tackled by the current REACH framework. Overall, this book is an innovative and timely contribution to the ongoing debate on how to best address the unprecedented risks posed by the growing pursuit of nanotechnological innovation by the EU and global policy agenda. REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology will be of great interest to advanced students and scholars of environmental law and policy, environmental governance, science and technology studies, and environment and health.
Author: Nertila Kuraj Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 0429576714 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 309
Book Description
REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology presents a thorough and comprehensive legal analysis on the status of nanoscale chemicals under the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction) regulation, asking whether it effectively safeguards human health and environmental protection. This book examines the European Commission’s claim that REACH offers the best possible framework for the risk management of nanomaterials. Through a detailed and meticulous analysis of the four phases of REACH, Kuraj assesses the capacity of the Regulation to protect human health and the environment against the potential harms associated with exposure to nanomaterials, and draws attention to the ways in which the specificities of nanoscale chemicals are (not) tackled by the current REACH framework. Overall, this book is an innovative and timely contribution to the ongoing debate on how to best address the unprecedented risks posed by the growing pursuit of nanotechnological innovation by the EU and global policy agenda. REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology will be of great interest to advanced students and scholars of environmental law and policy, environmental governance, science and technology studies, and environment and health.
Author: Lynn L. Bergeson Publisher: American Bar Association ISBN: 9781604425826 Category : Environmental law Languages : en Pages : 310
Book Description
The rapid commercialization of nanotechnology is one of the most intriguing industrial phenomena of our time. But as the universe of applied nanotechnology is burgeoning, so are questions raised about the possible impact of exposure to nanoscale materials on human health and the environment. This book offers the most current and authoritative look at the regulatory, governance, and business issues of a technology that is as fascinating as it is challenging.
Author: Christopher Bosso Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 113652780X Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 176
Book Description
Nanotechnology promises to transform the materials of everyday life, leading to smaller and more powerful computers, more durable plastics and fabrics, cheap and effective water purification systems, more efficient solar panels and storage batteries, and medical devices capable of tracking down and killing cancer cells or treating neurological diseases. Policy analysts predict a radical change in the industrial sector; at present, the U.S. government spends nearly $2 billion annually on nanotechnology research and development. Yet the nanotechnology revolution is not straightforward. Enthusiasm about nanotechnology‘s future is tempered by recognition of the hurdles to its responsible development, including the capacity of government to support technological innovation and economic growth while also addressing potential environmental and public health impacts. This is the first volume to engage scholarly perspectives on environmental regulation in light of the challenges posed by nanotechnology. Contributors focus on the overarching lessons of decades of regulatory response, while posing a fundamental question: How can government regulatory systems satisfy the desire for scientific innovation while also taking into account the direct and indirect effects of 21st century emerging technologies, particularly in the face of scientific uncertainties? With perspectives from economics, history, philosophy, and public policy, this new resource illuminates the various challenges inherent in the development of nanotechnology and works towards a reconceptualization of government regulatory approaches.
Author: John C. Miller Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0471699918 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 384
Book Description
In the first attempt to fully explore the controversial issues associated with the commercial application of nanotechnology, you'll find a thorough analysis of intellectual property and patents, financing and legal concerns, regulatory measures particularly in the field of nanomedicine, and environmental regulations. The authors include a set of guideposts you can follow in your due diligence of the business and legal issues pertaining to the technology.
Author: Lorna Brazell Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V. ISBN: 9041141863 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 394
Book Description
Ever since the discovery that very small particles of some substances evince different properties than the substances do in ‘bulk’ form, there has been an interest in developing ‘nanomaterials’ for commercial and industrial purposes. Although some nanomaterials exist in nature, most are chemically engineered for application in a wide variety of processes, ultimately entering the environment in many foods, drugs, cosmetics, clothing, sports goods, pesticides, packaging products and electronics, as well as in the particularly controversial form of tiny ‘machines’. Since the long-term effects of these new, laboratory-created materials and tools on health and the environment are unknown ; and as the particles are so small they can frustrate measuring and monitoring devices ; there has been a growing call for regulation of their use. This is the first book to offer a thorough analysis of the problems posed by nanotechnology in the context of existing legal schemes and trends, focusing on initiatives and debates in the European Union but also considering developments at the global level and in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and China. Setting out how the current debate has arisen, how existing law deals with the issues arising around nanotechnology in areas such as patent rights and manufacturers’ liability, and how various international organizations are searching for some global consensus, the book addresses topics and issues including the following: patentability of nanomaterial products and processes; trade secrecy and nanotechnology; waste and disposal issues; occupational health and safety issues; international initiatives – OECD, FAO, WHO, UNEP and the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM); intersection of nanotechnology with the most important fields of economic development; the extent to which exclusive rights have been registered over early developments in nanotechnology; the practical viability of pre-market toxicity investigation and postmarketing vigilance; contractual and tortious approaches to real or potential liability for harm; application of the precautionary principle in law and regulation; and political responses to existing legislation. Nanomaterials are already a commercial reality; the regulatory debate centres on the question of how to maximize the benefits they may offer while also limiting the risk from unforeseen hazards. This book clearly and comprehensively describes the range of issues relating to the legal framework and practicalities for commercial exploitation of nanotechnologies, and as such will prove of great value and importance to corporate counsel in many manufacturing sectors as well as to regulators and policy makers in environmental and trade law. Lorna is a partner in the London office of Bird & Bird LLP.
Author: Kathleen Sellers Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 0203881079 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 296
Book Description
Nanomaterials' unique properties offer revolutionary means to optimize a variety of products, including electronics, textiles, paintings and coatings, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. However, these same properties mean that nanoscale materials can behave differently in the human body and the environment than conventional materials.
Author: Great Britain. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Publisher: The Stationery Office ISBN: 9780101746823 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 160
Book Description
The Royal Commission's decision to study novel materials was motivated by concern about the potential for releases to the environment arising from increasing industrial applications of metals and minerals that have not previously been widely used and, secondly, by the embodiment of nanoparticles and nanotubes in a wide range of consumer products and specialist applications in fields such as medicine and environmental remediation. Most of the evidence received focused on nanomaterials - particles, fibres and tubes on the scale of a few billionths of a metre. Chapters 2 and 3 explore the extent to which novel substances are currently being deployed, the plausible pathways by which they might enter the environment, their likely environmental destinations in use or disposal and the possible consequences of their release to those destinations. Chapter 4 considers what arrangements would be most appropriate for the governance of emerging technologies under two conditions that pose serious constraints on any regulator. First is the condition of ignorance about the possible environmental impacts in the absence of any kind of track record for the technology. Second is the condition of ubiquity - the fact that new technologies no longer develop in a context of local experimentation but emerge as globally pervasive systems - which challenges both trial-and-error learning and attempts at national regulation. Both new governance approaches and modifications to existing ones are likely to be called for. They will need to be rooted in ideas of adaptive management that require multiple perspectives on the issues. The Commission's recommendations are based on the premise that it is the functionality of the material, not particle size or mode of production, which is critical for evaluating its potential impact on the environment or human health.
Author: Hazell Marshall Publisher: Scientific e-Resources ISBN: 1839473576 Category : Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
Environmental Nanotechnology is the first book to assist you in both understanding the properties of new nanomaterial-centered technology and assessing the potentially harmful effects these materials may have on the environment. The rapid pace of innovation in nanotechnology has posed a greater risk over health and environment demanding a need for responsible development, relevant policy framework and risk assessment guidelines. This book offers a comprehensive ovcerview of this challenging, inter-disciplinary research area. This book is an authoritative, in-depth exploration of the environmental consequences of nanotechnology. It provides a detailed account of the potential environmental benefits of nanotechnology, describing environmental technologies as well as other applications that can foster sustainable use of resources. The book will make fascinating and useful reading for engineers, scientists, administrators, environmental regulatory officials, public policy makers, and students in a range of science and engineering disciplines.