The EU and Nanotechnologies

The EU and Nanotechnologies PDF Author: Tanja Ehnert
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 150990851X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
This book investigates the role of law in confronting major societal transformations embodied by the emergence of nanotechnologies. Taking the case of the European Union, it explores who the key decision-makers in the regulation of nanotechnologies are and how they take decisions. The questions are explored through two distinct case studies: the food and chemicals sectors. The book charts an incremental retreat of the European Union to its executive powers, including 'soft law' measures such as agencies' guidelines or implementing measures. This, the author argues, results in the Union's fundamental democratic control mechanisms, the EU legislature and the Court of Justice of the EU, being circumvented. The book recommends several immediate proposals to reform EU risk regulation, advocating a greater reliance on the European Parliament and outlining measures to increase the transparency of guidance drafting by EU agencies. This important work provides a timely examination of how emerging technologies pose both regulatory and democratic challenges.

The EU and Nanotechnologies

The EU and Nanotechnologies PDF Author: Tanja Ehnert
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 150990851X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 295

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book investigates the role of law in confronting major societal transformations embodied by the emergence of nanotechnologies. Taking the case of the European Union, it explores who the key decision-makers in the regulation of nanotechnologies are and how they take decisions. The questions are explored through two distinct case studies: the food and chemicals sectors. The book charts an incremental retreat of the European Union to its executive powers, including 'soft law' measures such as agencies' guidelines or implementing measures. This, the author argues, results in the Union's fundamental democratic control mechanisms, the EU legislature and the Court of Justice of the EU, being circumvented. The book recommends several immediate proposals to reform EU risk regulation, advocating a greater reliance on the European Parliament and outlining measures to increase the transparency of guidance drafting by EU agencies. This important work provides a timely examination of how emerging technologies pose both regulatory and democratic challenges.

Review of the Federal Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research

Review of the Federal Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309185831
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
This new book from the National Research Council finds serious weaknesses in the government's plan for research on the potential health and environmental risks posed by nanomaterials, which are increasingly being used in consumer goods and industry. An effective national plan for identifying and managing potential risks is essential to the successful development and public acceptance of nanotechnology-enabled products. The book recommends a robust national strategic plan for addressing nanotechnology-related EHS risks, which will need to focus on promoting research that can assist all stakeholders, including federal agencies, in planning, controlling, and optimizing the use of engineered nanomaterials while minimizing EHS effects of concern to society. Such a plan will ensure the timely development of engineered nanoscale materials that will bring about great improvements in the nation's health, its environmental quality, its economy, and its security.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology PDF Author: Kit Cooley & Vic Lynn
Publisher: Scientific e-Resources
ISBN: 1839473614
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the agricultural and food industry with new tools for the molecular treatment of diseases, rapid disease detection, enhancing the ability of plants to absorb nutrients etc. Nanotechnology combines solid state physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, biochemistry and biophysics, and materials science. It is a highly interdisciplinary area meaning that it involves ideas integrated from many traditional discipline. Nanotechnology (NT) is the production and use of materials with purposely engineered features close to the atomic or molecular scale. NT deals with putting things together atom by atom and with structures so small they are invisible to the naked eye. It provides the ability to create materials, devices and systems with fundamentally new functions and properties. The promise of NT is enormous. It has implications for almost every type of manufacturing process and product. Nanomaterials have extremely small size which having at least one dimension 100 nm or less. Nanomaterials can be nanoscale in one dimension (e.g. surface films), two dimensions (e.g. strands or fibres), or three dimensions (e.g. particles). They can exist in single, fused, aggregated or agglomerated forms with spherical, tubular, and irregular shapes. Common types of nanomaterials include nanotubes, dendrimers, quantum dots and fullerenes. Nanoparticle research is currently an area of intense scientific research, due to a wide variety of potential applications in biomedical, optical, and electronic fields. Nanoparticles are of great scientific interest as they are effectively a bridge between bulk materials and atomic or molecular structures. A bulk material should have constant physical properties regardless of its size, but at the nano-scale this is often not the case. This book introduces the reader to the world of nanotechnology by giving them in-depth details of different aspects of the field.

A European Strategy for Jobs and Growth

A European Strategy for Jobs and Growth PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: European Union Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0104008318
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
This report by the European Union Committee examines the progress of the European Union in initiating a strategy for jobs and growth across the Community as a whole. The background to this report stems from the Spring European Council meeting in 2000, in Lisbon, and the launch of an economic reform agenda. The Committee observes that since the "Lisbon Agenda", little progress has been made and the performance of many of the larger European economies has been poor. The Committee has noted that certain worrying signs of protectionist behaviour have developed, especially regarding barriers of cross border mergers. The EU has recognized this weak performance and the Agenda was relaunched in 2005, with a greater focus on the key economic priorities of more growth and jobs. Also, all Member States are now required to produce an annual National Action Plan highlighting the policies being pursued to improve economic growth and increase employment. The Committee sets out a number of recommendations to further push forward the priorities of growth and jobs, including: that the Commission should seek to complete the progress towards an internal market; that Member States should influence one another in the development of good practice through statistical comparison of their economic progress, and agree on quantifiable targets; that the format of the National Action Plans should include not only the successes, but where countries are underperforming; that the Agenda be given a higher public profile.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology PDF Author: Geoffrey Hunt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136560718
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
Nanotechnology - technology at the molecular level - is held out by many as the Holy Grail for creating a trillion dollar economy and solving problems from curing cancer to reprocessing waste into products and building superfast computers. Yet, as with GMOs, many view nanotech as a high risk genie in a bottle that once uncorked has the potential to cause unpredictable, perhaps irreversible, environmental and public health disasters. With the race to bring products to market, there is pressing need to take stock of the situation and to have a full public debate about this new technological frontier. Including contributions by renowned figures such as Roland Clift, K. Eric Drexler and Arpad Pusztai, this is the first global overview of the state of nanotech and society in Europe, the USA, Japan and Canada, examining the ethics, the environmental and public health risks, and the governance and regulation of this most promising, and potentially most dangerous, of all technologies.

In Pursuit of Nanoethics

In Pursuit of Nanoethics PDF Author: Bert Gordijn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402068174
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The volume contributes to the ongoing nanoethics debate in four topical areas. The first part tackles questions of what could be called ‘meta-nanoethics’. Its focus lies on basic concepts and the issue of what - if anything - is truly novel and special about the new field of nanoethics or its subject matter. The second part of this volume presents a selection of interesting perspectives on some of the opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology. Part three takes a more in depth look at one of the most pressing current concerns: how to deal with the risks and uncertainties surrounding nanotechnology in a responsible manner. In its fourth and final part the volume touches on issues of public debate and policy.

Tomorrow's Healthcare by Nano-sized Approaches

Tomorrow's Healthcare by Nano-sized Approaches PDF Author: Paula Messina
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429682433
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Nanomedicine, a scientific branch of nanotechnology that operates on the same scale as biology, offers the possibility of influencing the healing process from inside of the body by manipulating the matter at cellular or molecular levels. Throughout this book, current healing approaches based on this revolutionary new technology are summarized from a scientific assessment. The aim of the authors is to give, through select examples, a deep insight to nanotechnology status and the great progress that its rigorous application will bring to human health. The authors' commitment is to broaden the vision of health professionals who will eventually be the future users of this knowledge.

REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology

REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology PDF Author: Nertila Kuraj
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429578822
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology presents a thorough and comprehensive legal analysis on the status of nanoscale chemicals under the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction) regulation, asking whether it effectively safeguards human health and environmental protection. This book examines the European Commission’s claim that REACH offers the best possible framework for the risk management of nanomaterials. Through a detailed and meticulous analysis of the four phases of REACH, Kuraj assesses the capacity of the Regulation to protect human health and the environment against the potential harms associated with exposure to nanomaterials, and draws attention to the ways in which the specificities of nanoscale chemicals are (not) tackled by the current REACH framework. Overall, this book is an innovative and timely contribution to the ongoing debate on how to best address the unprecedented risks posed by the growing pursuit of nanotechnological innovation by the EU and global policy agenda. REACH and the Environmental Regulation of Nanotechnology will be of great interest to advanced students and scholars of environmental law and policy, environmental governance, science and technology studies, and environment and health.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology PDF Author: Ahmed S. Khan
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439859531
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Advances in nanotechnology are transforming the ways of creating materials and products, leading society to the threshold of a second industrial revolution. However, future opportunities will depend significantly on how nanotechnology stakeholders deal with the short-term and long-term benefits, limitations, uncertainties and risks of nanotechnology. They will be tasked with navigating a variety of new social and ethical challenges associated with areas such as privacy, the environment, energy, population, genetics, agriculture, food, and security. Unique in its depth, breadth, and variety of viewpoints, Nanotechnology: Ethical and Social Implications stimulates, inspires, and builds awareness of nanotechnology’s impact on society. Spanning the immense range of disciplines at work in nanotechnology, the book’s selection of chapters focuses on how advances in science, and the convergence of multiple technologies, will impact society at individual, community, national, and international levels. The book focuses on raising the awareness of nanotechnology stakeholders, which includes undergraduate and graduate students; educators in sciences, engineering, business, and public policy; engineers; business and finance professionals; and policymakers. It also addresses the demands on the future workforce to learn new skill sets. The book uses an interactive format—which includes case studies, scenarios, and Web exercises—to promote critical thinking and problem solving skills. Content includes numerous tables, statistics, and figures to supplement and enhance the topics covered in each chapter. The result is a must-read for anyone seeking either a technical or nontechnical understanding of the societal impact of nanotechnology.

Science and Technology Governance and Ethics

Science and Technology Governance and Ethics PDF Author: Miltos Ladikas
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319146939
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
This book analyzes the possibilities for effective global governance of science in Europe, India and China. Authors from the three regions join forces to explore how ethical concerns over new technologies can be incorporated into global science and technology policies. The first chapter introduces the topic, offering a global perspective on embedding ethics in science and technology policy. Chapter Two compares the institutionalization of ethical debates in science, technology and innovation policy in three important regions: Europe, India and China. The third chapter explores public perceptions of science and technology in these same three regions. Chapter Four discusses public engagement in the governance of science and technology, and Chapter Five reviews science and technology governance and European values. The sixth chapter describes and analyzes values demonstrated in the constitution of the People’s Republic of China. Chapter Seven describes emerging evidence from India on the uses of science and technology for socio-economic development, and the quest for inclusive growth. In Chapter Eight, the authors propose a comparative framework for studying global ethics in science and technology. The following three chapters offer case studies and analysis of three emerging industries in India, China and Europe: new food technologies, nanotechnology and synthetic biology. Chapter 12 gathers all these threads for a comprehensive discussion on incorporating ethics into science and technology policy. The analysis is undertaken against the backdrop of different value systems and varying levels of public perception of risks and benefits. The book introduces a common analytical framework for the comparative discussion of ethics at the international level. The authors offer policy recommendations for effective collaboration among the three regions, to promote responsible governance in science and technology and a common analytical perspective in ethics.