Project Press Releases
- July 28, 2008pdfLocal Officials Move Toward Monitoring NanotechnologiesState and local officials have taken steps to begin monitoring the manufacture and storage of nanomaterials, a major step for a cutting-edge technology that has yet to be regulated by the federal government. Today, the Cambridge, MA Public Health Department recommended that the city take several steps to gain a better understanding of the nature and extent of local nanotechnology-related activities.
- July 23, 2008pdfNanotechnology and Oversight: An Agenda for the New AdministrationFew domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
- July 23, 2008pdfNanotech: A Regulatory Blueprint for the Next AdministrationNanotechnology will significantly change virtually every facet of the way we live. The next president has the opportunity to shape these changes and to ensure that nanotechnology’s benefits will be maximized and its risks identified and controlled. A new report by former EPA official J. Clarence (Terry) Davies lays out a clear roadmap for the next presidential administration and describes the immediate and longer term steps necessary to deal with the current shortcomings of nanotechnology oversight.
- July 21, 2008pdfNanotechnology: Learning From Past MistakesA new expert analysis in Nature Nanotechnology questions whether industry, government and scientists are successfully applying lessons learned from past technologies to ensure the safe and responsible development of emerging nanotechnologies. The study applies the 12 “late lessons from early warnings,” published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in 2001, to the emerging field of nanotechnology.
- May 19, 2008pdfCarbon Nanotubes That Look Like Asbestos, Behave Like AsbestosA major study published today in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities. The study used established methods to see if specific types of nanotubes have the potential to cause mesothelioma — a cancer of the lung lining that can take 30-40 years to appear following exposure.
- April 24, 2008pdfNew Nanotech Products Hitting the Market at the Rate of 3-4 Per WeekNew nanotechnology consumer products are coming on the market at the rate of three to four per week, a finding based on the latest update to the nanotechnology consumer product inventory maintained by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). The number of consumer products using nanotechnology has grown from 212 to 609 since PEN launched the world’s first online inventory of manufacturer-identified nanotech goods in March 2006.
- April 19, 2008pdfEurope Spends Nearly Twice as Much as U.S. on Nanotech Risk ResearchA new analysis by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) indicates that European nations are investing nearly twice as much as the U.S. in research primarily aimed at addressing the potential risks of nanotechnology. The analysis also highlights a substantial over-inflation of the federal government’s nanotechnology risk-research investment figures for the U.S.
- April 16, 2008pdfLimited Transparency In Federal Nanotech Research May Hamper DevelopmentToday at a House Science and Technology Committee’s hearing, testimony from Dr. Andrew Maynard highlighted shortfalls in the current U.S. Government strategy. According to Dr. Maynard, without clear leadership and more transparency in federal risk research investment, the emergence of safe nanotechnologies will be a happy accident, rather than a foregone conclusion.
- April 9, 2008pdfSlow Federal Action to Oversee Nanotechnology Leaves ‘Room At The Bottom’State and local governments often have adopted trailblazing initiatives to address environmental, health and safety concerns in advance or in lieu of federal action. With nanotechnology, an emerging field of science with unknown risks, this practice is continuing, a landmark study has found.
