By Porter Wright on The Nanotechnology Health and Safety Forum which is being sponsored by Battelle, Porter Wright, University of Washington, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and several others is taking place on June 8 – 9, 2009 at the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle, Washington. Keynote speakers include: Dr. Leroy Hood, Co-Founder of the Institute for Systems Biology; Dr. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A high-profile occupational health and safety attorney was interviewed yesterday on ABC Local Radio in Australia regarding potential workplace safety risks accompanying exposure to certain nanoscale materials in some circumstances. The reporter conducting the interview evidently led off the radio report by stating that "[t]o one of the nation’s leading work safety lawyers, the nanotechnology … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on "Nanotechnology: Considering the Complex Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues with the Parameters of Human Performance", by Linda MacDonald and Jeanann S. Boyce and published in Nanoethics 2: 265-275 (2008) (available at http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/2945) is one of the more thought provoking articles that look at the potential impacts of nanotechnology on law and society. It is certainly … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Battelle Memorial Institute, the University of Washington, and the University of Oregon are co-sponsoring the international Nanotechnology Health and Safety Forum (NHSF) in Seattle, Washington on June 8 – 9, 2009. The NHSF is coinciding with the first world-wide meeting of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC 229 — Nanotechnologies being held in the United States, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Steffen Foss Hansen is a Ph.D. candidate at the Technical University of Denmark’s Department of Environmental Engineering. Here is a link to his well-written Ph.D. thesis — "Regulation and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials — Too Little, Too Late?" Dr. Hansen’s thesis investigates whether existing environmental, health, and safety regulations and risk assessment techniques are adequate for nanotechnology … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on SPEECH OF HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009 Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the introduction of the Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities (NANO) Act. The NANO Act is a comprehensive bill to promote the development and responsible stewardship of nanotechnology in the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Earlier today, the EPA published an interim status report regarding its Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program. A final report is expected in early 2010. Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program, Interim Report, January 2009, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. At the outset, EPA notes that "[t]he findings and conclusions [of the] report should not … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This article, which appeared in the Nov. 17, 2008 issue of Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Volume 37, No. 3, was reproduced with permission from Agra Informa. Further use of this article is prohibited without the express written permission of the publisher. For more information about Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Food Chemical News or other Agra … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Nanotechnology Law and Business was kind enough to let us post a PDF of "A Nano-Mesothelioma False Alarm" here after several readers requested a copy. Please be sure to visit the journal to see the rest of this issue’s articles: Grading of Fullerene Nanotubes for Composite Applications Next Generation Carbon Fiber Patenting Graphene: Opportunities and Challenges … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on For those who are interested, below is the abstract of our new article published in the Fall edition of Nanotechnology Law & Business. You can find the full edition here: www.nanolabweb.com A Nano-Mesothelioma False Alarm In May 2008, a scientific study (the “Poland Study”) was published in Nature Nanotechnology—which sparked a rash of popular … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) "helps the Agency protect the environment in a more efficient and cost effective manner. [It] consist[s] of auditors, program analysts, investigators, and others with extensive expertise" who are tasked with evaluating EPA’s ability to deliver on key Agency policies. Risk Policy Report ran an article yesterday (October 14, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This fifth and final article in a series on standards for the nanotechnology community contributed by ANSI explains the development of specifications that will look at raw nanomaterials in terms of their use in a variety of applications. By 2007, the development of international guidelines for nanotechnology was well underway within the International Organization for … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Earlier today, Continental Western Insurance Group issued what appears to be one of the first nano-specific commercial insurance exclusions in the United States. Although Continental originally posted the exclusion and two supporting documents on its website, the materials were removed after BNA published an article about the exclusion this morning. We managed to print out … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Late last month, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholar’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) published a paper on the ability of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to deal with possible environmental, health, and safety risks potentially posed by the use of some nanoscale materials in certain consumer products. E. Marla Felcher, "The … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This fourth article in a series contibuted by ANSI on standards for the nanotechnology community addresses the development of specifications for measurement, characterization, and test methods that will provide a common reference point for material manufacturers and their customers. Measurement and characterization standards fly under the radar, affecting our lives in innumerable ways – from … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This article was authored and contributed by Terrence F. Smith, Director of Government Affairs, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. The report of the Nanomaterials Advisory Committee was on the agenda at the July 28 meeting of the Cambridge City Council. The Council’s actions bode well for continued manufacturing, processing, research and development using nanotechnology in Cambridge. The … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Cambridge, Massachusetts Nanotechnology Advisory Committee Recommends Registration of Engineered Nanoscale Materials Deadline for Similar Voluntary Registration Program by U.S. EPA Closes Washington, D.C. – July 28, 2008 – Porter Wright attorney John C. Monica, Jr., served as part of the Nanotechnology Advisory Committee of Cambridge, Massachusetts (NAC), which, after a year of deliberation and information … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As Mike Heintz reported earlier today, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies issued a report yesterday providing some guidance regarding where it believes the next administration should start with the issue of nanotechnology regulation next January. J. Clarence Davies, "Nanotechnology Oversight: An Agenda for the New Administration," Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This Article Was Authored and Contributed by the American National Standards Intititute This second article in a series on nanotechnology standardization introduces the international working group that, under US leadership, is creating the standards needed to support the health, safety, and environmental aspects of nanotechnology. In the post-war era of the late 1940s, global leaders … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on With all of the interest in nanosilver generated by the recent EPA petition filed by the International Center for Technology Assessment, I thought I would post some background material on EHS issues surrounding silver. A couple of disclaimers: the material is not comprehensive, and you might see parts of it again in "Nanotechnology Law and Policy" … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Our readers might be interested in this month’s edition of nano magazine which features a short article entitled "Asbestos Repeated? Assessing Risk in Nanotube Technologies." The article discusses the recent Poland/Donaldson paper published in nature nanotechnology that has been getting so much attention. Beyond the article, this much recommended magazine is published in the UK and … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A new Lux Research quarterly report — "Nanomaterials State of the Market Q3 2008: Stealth Success, Broad Impact" — contains a section summarizing the state of nano-related environmental, health, and safety issues in the United States. The report contains a very helpful time-line of key nano-related EHS events occurring between the fourth quarter of 2007 … Continue Reading
