Safety Ignored in Nanotech Rush, Warn Experts

Summary posted by Meridian on 1/13/2010
Source: SciDev.Net
Author: T.V. Padma

Experts speaking at a workshop on nanotechnology governance and regulation in Delhi, India, last week, warned that developing countries have embarked on a nanotechnology spree in the absence of health and safety guidelines. The workshop was supported by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and focused on India, but participants said the situation in India was similar to most developing countries engaged in nanotechnology research. The countries of China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam were cited as those intensively seeking to commercialize nanotechnology, yet unlike the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, these countries are not engaging in public discourse over regulation of this emerging technology. Alok Dhawan, a researcher at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, said that in the absence of regulation, "...it is a free for all." Dhawan described several nanotechnology products produced in India and noted that "...none of the companies has performed any toxicology tests," because there is no requirement that they do so. The conference concluded that the most urgent priorities for India were to establish a database on toxicity and guidelines for nanomaterial use, handling and disposal. The article can be found online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	Safety Ignored in Nanotech Rush, Warn Experts Summary posted by Meridian on 1/13/2010 Source: SciDev.Net Author: T.V. Padma Experts speaking at a workshop on nanotechnology governance and regulation in Delhi, India, last week, warned that developing countries have embarked on a nanotechnology spree in the absence of health and safety guidelines. The workshop was supported by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and focused on India, but participants said the situation in India was similar to most developing countries engaged in nanotechnology research. The countries of China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam were cited as those intensively seeking to commercialize nanotechnology, yet unlike the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, these countries are not engaging in public discourse over regulation of this emerging technology. Alok Dhawan, a researcher at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, said that in the absence of regulation, "...it is a free for all." Dhawan described several nanotechnology products produced in India and noted that "...none of the companies has performed any toxicology tests," because there is no requirement that they do so. The conference concluded that the most urgent priorities for India were to establish a database on toxicity and guidelines for nanomaterial use, handling and disposal. The article can be found online at the link below. The original article may still be available at www.scidev.net/en/news/safety-ignored-in-nanotech-rush-warn-experts.html As tagged by Meridian Institute: Implications: Human Enhancement, Human Health Risks, Worker Safety, Governance, Environmental Risks, Economic Competitiveness, Socio-Economic Effects Materials And Manufacturing: Manufacturing, Clothing Regions: North America, East and South Asia and the Pacific Stakeholders: Government, Industry, Academia, International Institutions Water And Sanitation: Purification Related Forums: Materials and Manufacturing Water and Sanitation Human Health Risks and Worker Safety Environmental Risks Socio-Economic Economic Competitiveness Governance print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives Nanotechnology Quintuples Heating Capacity of Solar Water Heaters -- Renewable Energy Magazine (9/1/2010) Researchers at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, have developed a solar heating system that uses nanotechnology to heat water to five times the temperature of a conventional system, while also permitting the collector surface area to retain up to 98 percent of heat from solar radiation. [More] Pakistan's Science Minister Attacks Funding Cuts -- SciDev.Net (9/1/2010) The Pakistan government has cuts its funds for the Pakistan Ministry of Science and Technology's 2010-2011 budget by almost half, causing the science minister, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, to criticize his own government. [More] Nanotechnology: Small wonders -- Nature (9/1/2010) This article takes an in-depth look at the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)'s first 10 years - to find out where the money went and what the initiative plans to do next. [More] Nanotech on Farmers' Fields -- Silicon Nutrition (8/31/2010) A plant nutrition study that addresses nano-sized plant nutrients is now available from the Landbouwkundige Uitgeverij G.C. van den Berg (Veenendaal, The Netherlands). [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.