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The American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) offered to brief representatives of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of General Counsel on legal and regulatory issues arising in connection with the application of existing statutory and regulatory authorities to engineered nanoscale materials. SEER prepared briefing documents on each statute, and a separate briefing document on innovative governance mechanisms. Each document...

This “Washington Watch” column outlines the concept of environmental accountability, provides a summary overview of the many mechanisms that are included within this broad topic, and discusses the role that environmental accountability plays in influencing corporate business standards pertinent to environmental performance. As government resources earmarked for more traditional environmental enforcement and compliance-assistance initiatives continue to dwindle, environmental...

Many people regard nanotechnology as a “stand-alone” technology. While the technology itself is of great interest, the most intriguing aspect of nanotechnology is that it is increasingly being utilised as an integral part of a more complicated convergence matrix. The intersection of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science, otherwise referred to as ‘NBIC convergence’, is leading to the development of nanobiotechnology products that promise to...

. In the past year, there has been an appreciable upswing in new products developed and commercialized pertinent to “intelligent” water monitoring tools and devices involving nanotechnology. Because many environmental applications of nanotechnology will almost certainly revolutionize the science, law, and regulation of water pollution, readers are urged to keep abreast of this fast-changing area....

This column explores applications of nanotechnologies in the agricultural sector, and a few of the issues the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is now considering regarding nanotechnologies and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). ...

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With the mid-term elections fast approaching, the Bush Administration is probably feeling a bit unsettled about its ability to defend its record on environmental accomplishments. The Bush Administration’s record on environmental accomplishments is, according to most environmental groups, weak if not downright bad. This column identifies several key environmental issues that may elicit potential voter response. ...

This column explores applications of nanotechnologies in the agricultural sector, and a few of the issues the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is now considering regarding nanotechnologies and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)....

Food packaging materials must comply with the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Nanopackaging for the most part involves the use of materials that are not intended to have any effect on the food in the package, but may contact the food if the material migrates from the packaging. Such materials are regulated as indirect food additives or food contact substances. There are precedents that permit the marketing of indirect food...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Committee (NPPTAC) forwarded to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson on November 22, 2005, its document entitled Overview of Issues for Consideration by NPPTAC. The Overview of Issues document sets forth NPPTAC’s “analysis and views” on a framework for a voluntary program on existing engineered nanoscale materials. The framework is intended to complement the new nanoscale chemicals requirements...