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2nd draft Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management shows no improvement

Published: Friday 6 March 2009

Following the receipt of comments from stakeholders to their Public Consultation on Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) has published a 2nd draft of the following two documents:

  1. Emerging policy issues - Draft information document on nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials
  2. Draft document setting out possible cooperative actions on nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials [Resolution on co-operative actions on nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials]

Compared to the respective 1st drafts, the 2nd versions of each document contain the following changes:

  1. Emerging policy issues - Draft information document on nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials:
    - increased number of references to ongoing national and international initiatives into the assessment of environmental health and safety (EHS) impacts of nanomaterials
    - increased number of recommendations on funding of EHS studies
    - call for precautionary manners
    - call for Government stewardship programmes and data provision by producers
  1. Draft document setting out possible cooperative actions on nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials [Resolution on co-operative actions on nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials]:
    -  increased number of references to benefits of nanotechnologies
    - new section on ‘Background’
    - increased consideration of ‘Ethical issues’, ‘Societal utility of nanotechnology’, as well as the ‘The level of knowledge about the issue’
    - new section on ‘The feasibility of the actions proposed’

Following the submission of comment to the 1st draft versions of both documents, the BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD) Expert Group on Nanotechnology submitted a detailed response to the 2nd draft versions of both documents, drawing particular attention to concerns regarding the recent additions to both documents.

Registered NIA Members can download the BIAC comments on the 2nd draft SAICM documents from the ‘Members only’-area on the NIA website by following the link to ‘Restricted Documents & Publications’.