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‘Hazardous waste?’ — ‘God help you, if you say ‘yes’ to that.’
Published: Monday 23 February 2009
Reporting from the 2nd Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy (organised by the US Food and Drug Law Institute, held in Washington DC on the 18th and 19th February 2009), a conference delegate, Rick Weiss, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and Science Progress, sums up his impression of the debate with the words: ‘Whether it’s about suing or being sued, it seems that nanotechnology—and every other new technology with a still-uncertain benefit-to-risk ratio—is a 21st century Full Employment Act for attorneys.’
He supports his summary with quotations and sound bites from conference:
‘Agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration are still trying to work out how nanotech fits into existing regulations, and whether new guidances or rules may be required to protect the public. [...] In a few cases, nonetheless, the EPA has begun to use sticks as well as carrots. In March it will begin enforcing a decree that requires all manufacturers and importers of carbon nanotubes—some types of which have been shown to cause tissue damage similar to that caused by asbestos fibers—to notify the agency before releasing their products onto the market. [...]
Some states are also getting tougher. In January, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control sent letters to the 27 companies and universities that it believes are manufacturing or importing carbon nanotubes, and asked a series of tricky legal questions such as: “When released, does your material constitute a hazardous waste under California Health & Safety Code provisions?” “I’m not here to give legal advice,” said John Monica, of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, a Washington law firm, “but…God help you if you say ‘yes’ to that.”’