A report released by the University of Madison-Wisconsin’s Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center has revealed that there is a lack of Federal guidelines applicable to the popular area of nanotechnology, and that state health departments are working overtime to regulate nanotech companies.
“In the absence of clear guidelines from Washington, the states are being left to fill in the gaps,” stated Dr. Andrew Maynard, Chief Science Advisor at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
The Federal government has recently called for “risk assessments” that would be used to create standards related to nanotechnology, but with a serious lack of active monitoring, no standards have been put into place thus far. A lack of information about the risks and potential health hazards related to this technology is a cause for concern, as is the little information available about U.S. companies that utilize nanotechnology in their research or in the development of various products.
There’s no information about what’s actually out there,” said Maria Powell, an Environmental Scientist at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, who led the recent study and compiled the subsequent report. Currently, there is no data related to which companies utilize nanotechnology or where carbon nanotubes, which have recently been linked to the development of mesothelioma, are being produced. Mesothelioma, typically associated with asbestos exposure is a deadly cancer that attacks the pleural lining of the lungs and has no known cure.
Currently, regulations for nanotech corporations are only being applied at the state or local level. Berkeley, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts are the sole cities that have implemented nanotech regulations in an effort to protect the health of their workers and eliminate public concern.
Mesothelioma.com urges the Federal government to consider strict guidelines for the regulation and monitoring of nanotechnology companies in a nationwide effort to protect the health of nanotech company employees, as well as the general public, who may come in contact with various products that include carbon nanotubes.
Mesothelioma.com is the web’s foremost resource for information related to nanotechnology, mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment options, and more. For further information, please visit mesothelioma.com.
