A Framework for Responsible Nanotechnology

Abstract

Environmental Defense, an environmental advocacy organization, and DuPont, a science-based products and services company, have developed a comprehensive, practical, and flexible Framework for evaluating and addressing the potential risks of nanoscale materials. The Framework is available at www.nanorisk-framework.com. The intent of this Framework is to define a systematic and disciplined process for identifying, managing, and reducing any environmental, health, and safety risks of engineered nanomaterials across all stages of a product’s lifecycle. Our Framework offers guidance on the key questions an organization should consider in developing applications of such materials, and on the key information needed to make sound risk-evaluation and risk-management decisions. The Framework allows users to move ahead despite areas of incomplete or uncertain information, by using reasonable assumptions and by compensating for knowledge gaps with appropriate risk-management practices. Further, the Framework describes a system to guide information generation and update assumptions, decisions, and practices with new information as it becomes available. And the Framework offers guidance on how to communicate information and decisions to key stakeholders.

We believe that the adoption of this Framework can promote responsible development of nanotechnology products, facilitate public acceptance, and support the development of a practical model for reasonable government policy on nanotechnology safety. We have solicited and incorporated feedback on our overall approach from a wide range of international stakeholders, and we are now pilot-testing the Framework on several materials and applications, at various stages of development. We expect that the Framework itself will evolve as it is used by a variety of stakeholders in a variety of settings for a variety of applications. We welcome feedback that will help us to improve it.