ETC Group Posts Report on Global Governance of Nanoscale Technologies

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Lynn L. Bergeson

On December 17, 2010, ETC Group published a report entitled The Big Downturn?  Nanogeopolitics, which updates its 2005 nanogeopolitics survey. According to ETC Group, since 2005, policymakers have begun to acknowledge that fast-tracking nanotechnology has come at a price and that some sort of regulation is necessary to address at least some of the risks posed.  ETC Group states, though, that “governments and industry, hand in hand, have come too far and invested too much to give up on nanotech’s promise of becoming the strategic platform for global control of manufacturing, food, agriculture and health -- a pillar of the 21st century’s ‘green economy.’”  ETC Group provides an update on the geopolitical landscape, producing a current snapshot of global investment, markets, governance, and control, including intellectual property. ETC Group is hopeful that the risks of nanotechnology will be addressed in fora such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Istanbul in September 2011 and the United Nations (UN) Rio+20 Summit in 2012.

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ILO Publishes Booklet On Emerging Hazards

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Lynn L. Bergeson

On April 27, 2010, ILO published a booklet entitled “Emerging Risks and New Patterns of Prevention in a Changing World of Work,” which summarizes new occupational safety and health issues, including those related to technical innovations such as nanotechnology. The booklet states:

There is a big knowledge gap between advances in the application of nanotechnology and its impact on health. Due to the extensive and highly diversified use of nanomaterials in industry, the number of workers exposed is also difficult to estimate. While little is known about the health and environmental impact of these new materials, it is likely that workers will be among the first to experience high rates of exposure.

According to ILO, the need to share information about emerging risks is “vital, at both the national and international levels.” ILO notes that “[t]he study of nanomaterials, for example, illustrates the importance of knowledge sharing in the development and application of new technologies, whereby the identification and assessment of associated hazards and risks need to be considered and communicated at a stage before widespread application in industry.”

 

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