AVS 51st International Symposium
    Technology for Sustainability Thursday Sessions
       Session TS-ThM

Invited Paper TS-ThM9
Nanotechnology and Environmental Policy

Thursday, November 18, 2004, 11:00 am, Room 303D

Session: Sustainable Manufacturing, Nanotechnology, and Environmental Policy
Presenter: S. Davis, Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition
Correspondent: Click to Email
Nanotechnology and Environmental Policy: Nanotechnology refers to the ability to restructure materials at the atomic level. The term nanotech is broadly applied to today’s use of nanoparticles in cosmetics or industrial coating as well as the long term goal of molecular manufacturing, which is the use of self replicating nanoparticles to mass produce almost any type of products. Nanotechnology today bears similarities to the micro electronic industry of the 1970’s. Like the micro electronics industry, nanotechnology is touted as a clean industry and it is expected to solve problems in medicine, manufacturing, computer science and energy storage. Also reminiscent of the micro electronic industry of 30 years ago, the nanotech industry is largely unregulated. New products using nanomaterials are being introduced to the market without adequate environmental health or life-cycle assessment. Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), a northern California nonprofit organization that researches and advocates on environmental issues associated with the high tech industry, is currently exploring environmental and public health issues associated with nanotechnology. SVTC is researching public policies and environment lessons learned from the micro electronic and biotechnology industries, to identify key environmental health regulatory issues for the emerging nanotechnology industry. SVTC proposes to present the preliminary research and findings on nanotechnology and environmental policy issues at the AVS in November. SVTC findings and a final report will be presented in the Winter of 2005 at a workshop hosted by SVTC for environmentalist, scientist, public health officials and lawmakers.