W1 PM Overview of Manufactured Nanomaterials and the Environment
Wednesday, 16 November 2005: 1:50 PM - 5:30 PM in Ballroom 1

(GOR-1116-944760) Nanotechnology and the environment: social, philosophical and policy considerations.

Gorman, M¹, Wardak, A¹, ¹ University of Virginia

ABSTRACT- The full consequences of introducing a wide range of nanotechnologies into the global environment cannot be anticipated in advance, because perturbations in complex systems have non-linear consequences. But a broad moratorium on the development of such technologies is not the answer. Instead, this paper will propose a framework for engaging multiple stakeholders in decisions about the environmental consequences of nanotechnology, using trading zones as a central metaphor (Gorman, 2003). Participants in trading zones need to develop a creole, or reduced common language. Interactional experts who can cross disciplinary boundaries can act as agents, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and resources. To deal with situations in which the values of different stakeholders are apparently incommensurable, moral imagination is required. In order to achieve these goals, it will be necessary to develop an Earth Systems Engineering Management capability (Allenby, 2000/2001). Specifically, the governance principles of ESEM should be applied to nanotechnology and other emerginig technologies. Nanoparticles pose a special challenge to toxic chemical regulation; the paper will conclude by applying this framework to the future of nanotechnology toxicology regulations (Wardak & Rejeski, 2003). References Allenby, B. R. (2000/2001). Earth systems engineering and management. Technology and Society, 19(4), 10-24. Gorman, M. E. (2003). Expanding the trading zones for convergent technologies. In M. C. Roco & W. S. Bainbridge (Eds.), Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science (pp. 424-428). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer. Wardak, A., & Rejeski, D. (2003). Nanotechnology & Regulation A Case Study using the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) (No. 2003-6). Washington, D.C.: Foresight and Governance Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Key words: nanotechnology, ethics, policy, environment