Nanotechnology worries unions in USA
April 30, 2007
A group of unions and civil society organisations in the USA have released a joint statement rejecting a proposed voluntary risk assessment approach for the control of health and safety and environmental risks associated with nanotechnology.
The statement has been signed by some 21 organisations, including several unions and the environment campaign groups Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, along with other public interest, non-profit and labour organisations.
The group jointly issued a public statement condemning efforts by DuPont Chemical Company and the US Environmental Defense (ED, formerly Environmental Defense Fund) to promote a voluntary risk assessment framework for nanotechnology.
According to the statement, DuPont and the US Environmental Defense intend to circulate a proposed framework, both in the USA and abroad, for consideration by various relevant oversight organisations, including the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The strong-worded statement by the unions and civil society groups said, "We reject outright the proposed voluntary framework as fundamentally flawed. We strongly object to any process in which broad public participation in government oversight of nanotech policy is usurped by industry and its allies."
The statement added, "The history of other voluntary regulation proposals is bleak. Voluntary regulations have often been used to delay or weaken rigorous regulation and should be seen as a tactic to delay needed regulation and forestall public involvement."
The groups argue that nanotechnology’s "rapid commercialisation" requires "focused environmental, health and safety research, meaningful and open discussion of broader societal impacts, and urgent oversight action".
Nanotechnology has the potential to provide us with extraordinary technological advances and could have a revolutionary impact on our lives.
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