Nanotechnology Program

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 1,000 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 limited 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.

Recent Projects

ELI recently completed 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 Woodrow Wilson Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Click here to read the press release and the report, Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies: Towards Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation.

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 developmentof an environmental, health, and safety governance structure; application ofspecific U.S. environmental laws to nanomaterials; and harmonization of international approaches to regulatingnanotechnologies.

Most recently, ELI convened experts to discuss its recent publication, Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies: Towards Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation, in London at Chatham House and in Washington, DC at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Please visit our Publications page and our Convenings page to learn more.

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.