Sustainable nanotechnology decision support system: bridging risk management, sustainable innovation and risk governance

Abstract

The significant uncertainties associated\ud with the (eco)toxicological risks of engineered nanomaterials\ud pose challenges to the development of nanoenabled\ud products toward greatest possible societal\ud benefit. This paper argues for the use of risk governance\ud approaches to manage nanotechnology risks and\ud sustainability, and considers the links between these\ud concepts. Further, seven risk assessment and management\ud criteria relevant to risk governance are defined:\ud (a) life cycle thinking, (b) triple bottom line, (c) inclusion\ud of stakeholders, (d) risk management, (e) benefit–\ud risk assessment, (f) consideration of uncertainty, and (g) adaptive response. These criteria are used to\ud compare five well-developed nanotechnology frameworks:\ud International Risk Governance Council framework,\ud Comprehensive Environmental Assessment,\ud Streaming Life Cycle Risk Assessment, Certifiable\ud Nanospecific Risk Management and Monitoring System\ud and LICARA NanoSCAN. A Sustainable Nanotechnology\ud Decision Support System (SUNDS) is\ud proposed to better address current nanotechnology risk\ud assessment and management needs, and makes.\ud Stakeholder needs were solicited for further SUNDS\ud enhancement through a stakeholder workshop that\ud included representatives from regulatory, industry and\ud insurance sectors. Workshop participants expressed\ud the need for the wider adoption of sustainability\ud assessment methods and tools for designing greener\ud nanomaterials

Decision Support for International Agreements Regulating Nanomaterials

“…The design of SUNDS has been described by Subramanian et al [9]. It consists of two tiers and uses MCDA to integrate technical data and user preferences in assessing risks from nano-enabled products and in comparing them to their benefits as part of socioeconomic analysis.…”

“…This integration was intentional, inspired by the EU Action Plan for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies (2005-2009), 9 which has not been reinforced by a new EU-level policy initiative targeting nanotechnology since then.…”

A methodology on how to create a real-life relevant risk profile for a given nanomaterial

“…Because they are chemical substances, NMs fall under general term of "substance" in REACH and are classified according to Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging (CLP). 3 Discussions towards the modification of REACH annexes to introduce the term "nanoform", and requirements to provide information on the size, shape and surface modification of individual nanoforms, are ongoing and will eventually apply to European nanomaterial manufacturers and importers.…”

“…1 The combination of size, structure and physical/chemical properties of nanomaterials (NMs) offer remarkable technological advances and innovations but may also entail new risks for human health and the environment. [2][3][4] Thus, an appropriate management of nano-related risks have been identified by the EU Commission as a vital empowering issue for the success of NMs and nanotechnologies. 5 One bottleneck that hinders the safe and sustainable development of nano-innovations in various industrial sectors is that nano-specific legislative measures at the EU level are currently vague; while a decade of research in nanotoxicology has failed to identify specific modes of action for nanomaterial toxicity, 6 the regulatory framework has been growing disorderly, creating an uncertain environment for industry.…”

Risk Mitigation Strategies in Innovative Projects

“…A similar concept is also given due consideration in the context of the impact of innovation on the environment in the long-term sustainability of nanotechnology argues in the risk governance approaches to mitigation of risks with clear and well-structured risk assessment and management criteria to risk governance [9]. For undergoing any innovative project, as for instance the development of London Heathrow Terminal 5, a lot boils down to the dynamic capabilities of the irms or the organization under consideration to take on the innovative projects.…”