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Nanotechnology Program

carbon nanotube The Environmental Law Institute’s Nanotechnology Program seeks to respond to the urgent need to develop an effective environmental, health, and safety governance structure for nanotechnologies. The nano-revolution is upon us, yet our current environmental, health, and safety programs do not adequately address the risks nanotechnologies may pose to public health and the environment. Nanotechnology, the manufacture and manipulation of materials that are approximately 1 to 100 nanometers, has many applications that have yet to become commercially available; however, over 800 products that use nanomaterials are already on the market, including fabrics, sporting goods, and cosmetics. Nanomaterials are being emitted into the air, discharged into the water, and disposed of on land with minimal federal or state review or understanding of the possible effects on human health and the environment. Substantial work is needed to develop an effective governance structure. Core areas of research needed to establish a foundation for a governance structure include:

A comprehensive analysis of existing legal authorities and development of a regulatory and oversight blueprint;
An assessment of alternative governance approaches;
Development of public information and engagement tools and mechanisms; and
An examination of management and implementation issues and strategies.

Current Projects

ELI is continuing its efforts to examine whether and how the principal U.S. environmental laws could be applied to nanomaterials. In February 2008, the Woodrow Wilson Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and ELI released a research brief, The Application of the Toxics Release Inventory to Nanomaterials. This publication analyzes the application of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act’s Toxics Release Inventory to nanomaterials.

ELI will participate in an international research project on regulating nanotechnologies in the European Union and the United States thanks to a grant of €400,000 awarded by the European Commission to researchers at ELI, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Chatham House, and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Click here to read the press release.

Publications and Convenings

Since 2005, the Nanotechnology Program at the Environmental Law Institute has been producing timely publications and convening key stakeholders to foster the development of an effective environmental, health, and safety governance structure for nanotechnologies. ELI’s publications and covenings examine: principles that should direct the development of an environmental, health, and safety governance structure; application of specific U.S. environmental laws to nanomaterials; and harmonization of international approaches to regulating nanotechnologies. Please visit our Publications page and our Convenings page to learn more.

Conference: NanoGovernance 2008: Innovative Approaches to Nanotechnology Environmental Governance. Sponsored by the George Washington University Law School, Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP, and ELI. Please visit the NanoGovernance conference Web site for more details.

Op-Ed: ELI President, Leslie Carothers, and Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Dave Rejeski, contributed an Op-Ed to the Cambridge Chronicle.

Publication: The ELI Nanotechnology Deskbook, by Lynn Bergeson (Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.) and Tracy Hester (Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP). The Nanotechnology Deskbook guides the reader through the application of existing law and regulations to nanomaterials by exploring domestic laws and regulations and considering developments in the international context. It includes a focus on special business considerations when this technology is involved and concludes by discussing the development of an effective environmental governance structure for nanotechnologies that protects human health and the environment without stifling the development of this new field. Read the press release here.

Click here to read the Nanotechnology Program Press Releases.

Staff

The Nanotechnology Program is led by Linda Breggin.

The ELI Innovation in Governance Programs work to develop inventive approaches to new or entrenched environmental problems and changing technologies and economies. The programs focus on four objectives:

Investigate and promote innovative approaches to managing government agencies and private businesses that will achieve greater environmental protection.
Safeguard and strengthen the safety net of federal environmental law, its enforcement in the courts, and its state implementation through strategic research, education, and outreach.
Improve understanding of environmental governance tools by hosting visiting scholars and international delegations.
Through ELI's Center for Business Environmental Strategy, provide information, ideas and tools for corporate environmental lawyers and executives to improve environmental management.