'Thinking Big about Nano'- IOM's SAFENANO Initiative features in Business Week online
Today, a feature Viewpoint from Rob Aitken (Director of Strategic Consulting at the IOM and the SAFENANO Initiative) was published in Business Week Online, one of the worlds leading sources of business news. In 'Thinking Big About Nanotech' the involvement of Government, Regulatory Bodies, Industry and Academia is reviewed; and the need for increasing coordination and cooperation between these communities to advance the field responsibly is stressed.
In the article, Aitken begins by outlining the current 'field of play' in nanotechnology development, and assesses the current big questions and challenges. He argues that that "Only a system that combines commonsense government oversight, best practices from business leaders, and full disclosure of research findings can answer these questions in a way that lets nanotechnology advance to its full potential."
Aitken challenges the speed of response from regulatory authorities, and their claims that they have attained the maximum possible engagement with the new issues posed by nanotechnology. However, he acknowledges the delicate balance to be struck between regulation and innovation, commenting that “ overzealous oversight (or the threat of it) could stymie innovation. But failure to act promptly could lead to significantly enhanced risks to the public and the environment..."
With respect to Industry, Aitken calls for a greater involvement in the development of measures to protect workers and consumers, and whilst acknowledging their rights to maintain proprietorship of their trade secrets, highlights the need for increased corporate responsibility toward nano-safety. He appeals to industrial corporations to work with government and researchers to develop a way of sharing information about nanotoxicity pointing out that “If the business community comes together to identify the exact toxicity of certain materials, it can better inform regulatory bodies and avoid overregulation."
Whilst not losing sight of the exciting possibilities heralded by nanotechnology, Aitken calls for the “hype to be tempered with realism”. From his perspective, a ‘global approach’ to nano-safety is necessary to address fully the benefits and risks. He stresses that in an “ever-shrinking (nano) world” public and private sector engagement to codify the necessary research is imperative, and illustrates this using the SAFENANO initiative as an example of the interdisciplinary and international cooperation necessary to push forward toward consensus.
To read the article in full, please click here...
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/
To read more about the mission and aims of the SAFENANO initiative, please click here...
http://www.safenano.org/AboutUs.aspx