Environment and Green Nano
Publications
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publications/archive
April 28, 2009
PEN 18 - Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology
Existing health and safety agencies are unable to cope with the risk assessment, standard setting and oversight challenges of advancing nanotechnology.
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publications/archive
January 27, 2009
PEN 16 - Nanotechnology: The Social and Ethical Issues
“It is crucial to address social and ethical issues now as we consider both the substantial potential risks of nanotechnology and its possible significant contributions to our well-being and environmental sustainability,” says report author Ronald Sandler. PEN 16 emphasizes ways in which these issues intersect with governmental functions and responsibilities, including science and technology policy, as well as research funding, regulation and work on public engagement.
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publications/archive
October 3, 2008
Nanotechnology: Energizing the Future
Industry and government are searching for new technologies that will foster more efficient and less-polluting energy sources. From nano-enabled solar panels to long-lasting automobile batteries, nanotechnology will be a cornerstone of 21st Century energy sources.
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publications/archive
September 9, 2008
PEN 15 - Silver Nanotechnologies and the Environment
Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report released today by the Project.
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publications/archive
July 23, 2008
PEN 13 - Nanotechnology Oversight
Few 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.
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publications/archive
April 24, 2008
Congressional Testimony - National Nanotechnology Initiative: Charting the Course for Reauthorization
New 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. Today, in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, PEN Project Director David Rejeski cited Ace Silver Plus—another of the nine nano toothpastes in the inventory—as an example of the upsurge in nanotechnology consumer products in stores. The hearing marks the start of U.S. Senate debate on the future direction of the annual $1.5 billion federal investment in nanotechnology research and development .
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publications/archive
February 26, 2008
Application of the Toxics Release Inventory to Nanomaterials
This research brief examines whether the legal authorities that establish the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in the Emergency Planning and Community-Right to-Know Act (EPCRA) could be applied to nanomaterials. Although several organizations have published analyses of whether specific environmental laws could be used to regulate nanomaterials, none of these reviews has examined EPCRA or TRI in any detail.
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publications/archive
February 19, 2008
Applying the Chemical Policy Options to Emerging Technologies and Materials: Adaptations and Challenges
Can the template developed in this report for chemicals policy reform be applied in assessing the hazards of emerging technologies and what considerations are involved for state governments?
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publications/archive
January 4, 2008
Looking Back on the First Two Years
This report reviews the Project’s major activities, key contributions, and most significant impacts over its first two years.
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publications/archive
December 3, 2007
Feynman, Voltaire and Beckett on Nanotechnology
This presentation examines flaws in the assertion by the U.S. government that the existing regulatory system is adequate to address risks from nanotechnologies and explores actions that need to be taken to help foster successful commercialization of nano products.
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publications/archive
July 1, 2007
Where Does the Nano Go? End-of-Life Regulation of Nanotechnologies
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publications/archive
April 1, 2007
Green Nanotechnology: It’s Easier Than You Think (Report)