RISK ASSESSMENT RELATED TO NANOTECHNOLOGY: ENVIRONMENTAL AND POLICY-MAKING

摘要

Additional research on the health and environmental risks posed by nanoparticles is needed to help ensure that asbestos-like scandals will not return to haunt nanotechnology companies in the future. Nanotechnology, which concerns the study and application of materials on an ultrasmall scale, is widely perceived as one of the key technologies of the 21st century with a potential to grow into a trillion-euro industry within a decade. Fears are growing that the field could develop into a political battleground with fiery debates about environmental and ethical consequences and dangers, as has occurred in the field of biotechnology. Recent debates on issues such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the related review of the European chemicals policy have sparked heated discussions among stakeholders about the analysis and assessment of the underlying risks and the way in which these environmental and health-related concerns can be managed and communicated. Questions about the definition of risk, the objectivity of scientific information and the role that risk analysis should play in policy decisions are at the heart of the debates.