Regulatory oversight of nanotechnology is urgently needed, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should act now. That’s according to a new study recently released by the EPA.

In “EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century,” former EPA assistant administrator for policy, planning and evaluation, J. Clarence Davies, provides a roadmap for a new EPA to better handle the challenges of nanotechnology. New nanomaterials and nanotechnology products are entering the market each week, and an adequate oversight system is necessary to identify and minimize any adverse effects of nano materials and products on health or the environment. (Nanotechnology entails the measurement, prediction and construction of materials on the scale of atoms and molecules. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, and nanotechnology typically deals with particles and structures larger than 1 nanometer, but smaller than 100 nanometers.) Davies' report sets out an agenda for creating an effective oversight system as nanotechnology advances—the technology that some have hailed as the next industrial revolution.

"This new report seeks to encourage EPA, Congress, and others to create an intelligent oversight approach that empowers EPA and promotes investment and innovation in new nanotechnology products and processes," said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Wilson Center (PEN).

Rejeski agrees that nanotechnology is an area of research that could add billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, but also cites uncertainty regarding the environmental, health and safety consequences.

The report provides a thorough analysis of how nanotechnology can serve as a catalyst for change in EPA and existing regulatory frameworks. Mainly, it identifies major areas that require transformation within the agency—including science, program integration, personnel, international activities and program evaluation. In addition, Davies' report spells out more than 25 steps that EPA, Congress, the President, the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative and the nanotechnology industry as a whole should take to improve the oversight of nanotechnology.

Among the recommendations made are the following:

• EPA should launch its proposed voluntary program to collect nanotechnology risk information and should begin immediately to revise the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to better deal with nanotechnology.
• EPA and industry should create a joint research institute to conduct scientific research on nanotechnology effects.
• EPA should set up and lead an interagency regulatory coordinating group for nanotechnology oversight.
• Congress should establish a temporary committee in each house to consider options for a nanotechnology oversight mechanism.
• Congress should provide an additional $50 million each year for research on the health and environmental effects of nanotechnology products and processes.
• Congress should remove constraints that limit EPA's ability to require that companies collect and share necessary data and other information the agency needs to oversee nanotechnology.

EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century was commissioned by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, a partnership between the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The report is available online at www.nanotechproject.org.