Nanotechnology

Regulation and Public Discourse

By: Iris Eisenberger (Editor), Angela Kallhoff (Editor), Claudia Schwarz-Plaschg (Editor)

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eText | 11 April 2019 | Edition Number 1

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Over the last decades, nanoscience and nanotechnology has been ascribed the potential to contribute beneficial applications in fields such as medicine, cosmetics, or environmental remediation. At the same time it is still contested whether engineered nanomaterials might be not one-sidedly “good” but may also entail negative side-effects for human health and the environment. To address this uncertainty, academic and political initiatives have sought to establish norms and practices to assess and govern nanomaterials.

Rooted in different disciplines such as ethics, ecology, law, social and political sciences, the chapters in this edited volume explore the normative approaches, societal practices, and legal mechanisms which have emerged in the nano-field over the last two decades. The chapters also present a broad variety of evaluative approaches that may assist societal actors in their attempts to actively shape and contribute to the debate about nanomaterials.

Industry Reviews

This volume includes 12 conference-based papers. The editors note that though nanotechnologies benefit from both judicial rulings and industrial self-regulation, limited academic involvement has exposed gaps. The contributors follow the ethical, legal, and social aspects (ELSA) approach, with the goal of offering guidelines for reflection. The essays appear under three headings: "Evaluation and Standardisation," "Norms and Regulation," and "Politics and Publics." As with any emerging technology, the matter of anticipatory governance rests at the center of such debates, and the contributors often refer back to the example of biotechnologies, identifying interesting parallels regarding the potential pitfalls of nano-marketing. For example, incomplete information and resulting controversies in the case of genetically manufactured foods suggest cautionary approaches and stress the need for better public information and consultation. Though grounded in the European framework (especially Austria and Western Europe), the volume serves as a basis for further exploration of the issues it raises in other national and cultural contexts. The solid introduction and 20-plus boxes and graphs make up for complex summaries and acronym-heavy explanations.

Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.