Voluntary Initiatives, Regulation, and Nanotechnology Oversight - New PEN Report
A new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars explores a variety of voluntary options available for the oversight of nanotechnology products and processes. The report, Voluntary Initiatives, Regulation, and Nanotechnology Oversight: Charting a Path, by Dr. Daniel Fiorino, Director of the Center for Environmental Policy at American University, provides a historical overview of voluntary approaches to environmental protection and assesses their applicability to the emerging field of nanotechnology. And he makes a few interesting suggestions.
(Excerpts from the Executive Summary) The rapidly growing field of nanotechnology and its products poses new and interesting challenges to environmental policy-makers and institutions. In one sense, these challenges, which include such issues as limitations in data and uncertainty about many health and environmental effects, are typical of those of earlier generations of chemicals management.
At the same time, nanotechnology is representative of a newer generation of environmental issues whose consequences are difficult to predict, rapidly evolving, dependent on technology change and innovations and not usually amenable to conventional regulatory solutions and strategies.
Existing policy assessments have analyzed and offered recommendations on the available and appropriate regulatory strategies for managing potential health and environmental effects of materials, products and processes arising from nanotechnology. These assessments have made it clear that government regulation in some form will play a necessary and crucial role. Government will be involved in assessing potential risks, defining oversight structures and systems, promoting transparency, protecting workers, informing the public and generally steering the responsible development of the industry.
The nature of nanotechnology as a rapidly growing and constantly evolving sector makes it an excellent application for voluntary initiatives. Their role would not be to replace government regulation, however, but to inform regulation and to complement existing and future actions. The flexibility, adaptability, relative ease of implementation and potential for constructive engagement of multiple parties commend them as a part of an oversight strategy.
Building on the analysis of voluntary environmental initiatives in the report the author suggests a variety of actions for stakeholders:
- The Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies should develop multi-year strategies with both regulatory and voluntary actions.
- They should assess the experience with voluntary initiatives—on chemicals and more generally—and build any lessons into program designs.
- They should proceed with mandatory reporting under the appropriate legal authorities but also consider how well-designed voluntary data collection initiatives may enhance and expand upon those efforts.
- Government, business and non-government organizations should consider creating a multi-stakeholder Nano Stewardship Council modeled generally on such collaborative mechanisms as the Forest Stewardship Council. It would provide a neutral forum for discussing nanotechnology issues and serve as a clearinghouse for information. Nanotechnology firms and business organizations should build upon the foundations of The Nano Risk Framework and Nano Risk Code to expand and extend the capacities of the industry for managing potential risks.
- Investors and insurers could promote progress on voluntary initiatives by incorporating participation in and commitment to credible voluntary initiatives into their decision-making.
Source and Report Download: Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies