On November 10, 2009, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released findNano, an application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch that is intended to let users determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. According to PEN, the application allows users to browse an inventory of more than 1,000 nanotechnology-enabled consumer products, from sporting goods to food products and electronics to toys, using the iPhone and iPod Touch. Using the built-in camera, iPhone...
Archives
September 25, 2009
PEN Holds Meeting on Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation
On September 23, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Technologies (PEN) hosted a meeting on “Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies.” The program is part of a collaborative research project involving experts from the London School of Economics (LSE), Chatham House, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and PEN. The project is funded by a grant from the European Commission to support pilot...
September 16, 2009
Lynn L. Bergeson Chairs Panel at Conference on “Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies”
The London School of Economics (LSE), Chatham House, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars held a conference on September 10-11, 2009, on “Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies,” in London. LSE, Chatham House, ELI, and PEN are participating in an international collaborative project, Regulating Nanotechnologies in the EU and U.S.,...
August 28, 2009
CPSC Holds Public Hearing on CPSC Agenda, Priorities, and Strategic Plan for FY 2011
On August 25, 2009, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) held a public hearing to receive comments about its agenda and priorities for CPSC during fiscal year (FY) 2011, which begins October 1, 2010, and about its current strategic plan. CPSC invited participation by members of the public, and representatives from the Consumers Union, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), Thermo Fisher Scientific, National...
On August 18, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released data showing that more than 1,200 companies, universities, government laboratories, and other organizations are involved in nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization. According to PEN, this is a 50 percent increase from the 800 organizations it identified two years ago. The data are part of PEN’s interactive map displaying the growing...
The September 2009 issue of the European Respiratory Journal will contain a study entitled “Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma.” The study examines the relationship between a group of workers presenting with “mysterious” symptomatic findings and their nanoparticle exposure. The authors conducted surveys of the workplace, made clinical observations, and examined the patients — seven young female workers (aged...
July 31, 2009
ETC Group Issues Report on Nanogeopolitics
Earlier this month, in advance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) July 15-17, 2009, Conference on Potential Environmental Benefits of Nanotechnology: Fostering Safe Innovation-Led Growth, the Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration (ETC Group) issued a draft report entitled Nanogeopolitics 2009: The Second Survey. ETC Group recommends that policies concerning nanotechnologies be developed within the United Nations (UN) system, “where...
July 21, 2009
PEN Announces Report on Contaminated Site Remediation
On July 8, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) announced the availability of an article entitled Nanotechnology and In situ Remediation: A review of the benefits and potential risks, which discusses the use of nanomaterials in the environmental cleanup process. According to the article, nanomaterials have the potential to reduce the costs and time of cleaning up contaminated sites, as well as eliminate the need for treatment...
June 4, 2009
UK Will Develop Strategy for Nanotechnologies
On June 2, 2009, the United Kingdom (UK) released its response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) Report entitled Novel Materials in the Environment: The Case of Nanotechnology. The RCEP looked at the properties of nanomaterials and the potential pathways by which they could enter and present potential hazards to the environment and people. The UK states that it shares RCEP’s “understanding that there is no evidence of actual harm resulting from the use of...
On April 28, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology, which calls for the creation of the Department of Environmental and Consumer Protection, which would oversee product regulation, pollution control and monitoring, and technology assessment. According to report author J. Clarence Davies, Ph.D., the agency would be primarily a scientific agency with a strong...