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Attorney from
Gardere Law Firm Analyzes Need for Nanotechnology Regulation
Other Topics:
Nanotech Financial Records
LAWFUEL
August 28, 2008
HOUSTON – Although analysts forecast that more
than 15 percent of all products will incorporate some form
of nanotechnology by 2014, there is very little federal
regulation or oversight on this burgeoning sector. The
challenge, as Gardere Wynne Sewell Senior Attorney Nancy J.
Brown discusses in a new Washington Legal Foundation legal
background paper, is for governments to find a way to
balance the goals of encouraging innovation and avoiding
environmental harm. |
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With more than 600 products currently
available which utilize nanotechnology and annual sales of
$50 million to $88 million worldwide, the promise seems
almost limitless. However, notes Ms. Brown, along with this
promise of expanded knowledge and increased commerce, comes
concerns about health and safety in the workplace, for
consumers and for the environment.
“Some experiments have shown that nanomaterials can cause
cell damage in laboratory animals, but very little is
presently known about the possible toxic effects or how
those materials might accumulate and interact in the
atmosphere, soil and water,” she relates. “Although
nanoparticles can exist naturally, there are many who
believe that the consequences of widespread introduction of
such particles into the environment should have been more
thoroughly investigated before the proliferation of products
reached the market.”
Clouding the argument, Ms. Brown writes, is the fact that
the U.S. government has yet to enact any environmental laws
directed specifically at nanotechnology, with the consensus
of the U.S. legal community and regulatory agencies agreeing
that the issues can be dealt with under existing federal
regulatory schemes. However, some have argued that the U.S.
has spent far too little on risk research, especially
compared to the European Union. Although more than half of
the U.S. states have enacted nanotech-related statues, the
only laws aimed at regulating nanotechnology have come from
the municipal level.
With recent surveys indicating that a large percentage of
the U.S. population has little to no understanding of
nanotechnology, it is time for a public dialogue on these
issues, says Ms. Brown. “Failure to adequately address these
issues could lead to consumer rejection and could undo the
developing economic benefits of this promising technology.” |
