Nanotechnology: The Challenge of Regulating Known Unknowns

Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 34 (4):704-713 (2006)
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Abstract

Media reports of the health hazards posed by nano-sized particles have turned a white hot spotlight on the risks of nanotechnology. Worried about the risks posed to workers producing nano-materials, the Washington Post has labeled nanotechnology a “seat-of-the-pants occupational health experiment.” This article examines our emerging knowledge base about the hazards of two types of exposure: inhalation of NSPs and topical application of products containing NSPs. It argues that a clear-eyed evaluation of the benefits and risks of nanotechnology is made extremely difficult by the marriage of a complex science with a venture capitalist-like hype. It then suggests that, absent additional statutory authority, governmental regulators cannot readily address the risks posed by these products. This regulatory inaction leaves a significant role for the private insurance market, a role that regulators should support in tangible ways outlined in the article

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Robin Wilson
University of Phoenix

References found in this work

Transnational Models for Regulation of Nanotechnology.Gary E. Marchant & Douglas J. Sylvester - 2006 - Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 34 (4):714-725.
Transnational Models for Regulation of Nanotechnology.Gary E. Marchant & Douglas J. Sylvester - 2006 - Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 34 (4):714-725.

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