'No Data, No Market' for Nanotechnologies, MEPs Say

Summary posted by Meridian on 4/2/2009
Source: EurActiv.com
Author: n/a

The European Parliament's Environment Committee this week adopted a report that calls for nanotechnology products already on the market to be withdrawn until safety assessments can be made. The report also calls for tighter controls on nanotechnology and includes the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances) Directive's principle of "no data, no market." The committee adopted the report with a vote of 21 votes to 14. The vote was seen as another victory by environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), especially since last week the Members of Parliament (MEPs) adopted a report calling for definition, labeling, and specific risk assessments for nano-containing foods. Dragomira Raeva, of the European Environmental Bureauexternal, a network of environmental NGOs, said "[W]e are immensely pleased that Parliament disagreed with the European Commission's opinion that nanomaterials are in principle covered by existing legislation and better implementation alone could effectively oversee this important and complex emerging technology. With nanotechnology use expected to mushroom in the coming years, the right framework needs to be put in place now to ensure that the use and release of these micromaterials into the environment does not adversely affect human health or ecosystems." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	'No Data, No Market' for Nanotechnologies, MEPs Say Summary posted by Meridian on 4/2/2009 Source: EurActiv.com Author: n/a The European Parliament's Environment Committee this week adopted a report that calls for nanotechnology products already on the market to be withdrawn until safety assessments can be made. The report also calls for tighter controls on nanotechnology and includes the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances) Directive's principle of "no data, no market." The committee adopted the report with a vote of 21 votes to 14. The vote was seen as another victory by environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), especially since last week the Members of Parliament (MEPs) adopted a report calling for definition, labeling, and specific risk assessments for nano-containing foods. Dragomira Raeva, of the European Environmental Bureauexternal, a network of environmental NGOs, said "[W]e are immensely pleased that Parliament disagreed with the European Commission's opinion that nanomaterials are in principle covered by existing legislation and better implementation alone could effectively oversee this important and complex emerging technology. With nanotechnology use expected to mushroom in the coming years, the right framework needs to be put in place now to ensure that the use and release of these micromaterials into the environment does not adversely affect human health or ecosystems." The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may still be available at www.euractiv.com/en/science/data-market-nanotechnologies-meps/article-1... As tagged by Meridian Institute: Implications: Human Health Risks, Worker Safety, Governance, Environmental Risks Materials And Manufacturing: Manufacturing Nanomaterials: Carbon Nanoparticle, Metal Nanoparticle, Naturally Occurring Regions: Europe Stakeholders: Government, Industry, NGO, Academia, International Institutions Related Forums: Materials and Manufacturing Human Health Risks and Worker Safety Environmental Risks Governance print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies: Options for Framing Public Policy -- The Innovation Society (2/8/2010) The Governance and Ethics Unit of the Directorate General for Research (DG Research) of the European Commission (EC) has published an overview paper on options for framing public policy on nanotechnologies. [More] UN Patent Filings Dropped for 1st Time Since 1978 -- ABC news (2/8/2010) The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an entity through which a company can, for a fee, file a request for patent protection in any or all of the 142 countries that have subscribed to the U.N.'s Patent Cooperation Treaty, reported that the number of international patent filings dropped last year for the first time since 1978. [More] TECHNOLOGY: Science Panel Probes Renewable Energy's Current Use of China's Rare Metals -- Environment & Energy Daily (2/8/2010) A United States House of Representatives Science and Technology subcommittee this week will hold a hearing on rare earth mineral production and the resource's role in the growing clean energy industry. [More] Nanofood for Thought -- Nature Nanotechnology (2/5/2010) This editorial, in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, is in response to the recent report, "Nanotechnologies and Food", released in January by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, United Kingdom, that criticized the food industry for failing to be transparent about its research into the uses of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. [More] More News... Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here. Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.