Nanotechnology Law & Policy

The lecture explains how the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission identifies hazards, develops standards, and issues recalls, highlighting nanotechnology risks, labeling gaps, and the need for toxicity data.

Explore how the Food and Drug Administration regulates nanotechnologies in food, cosmetics, and drugs, weighing safety concerns, risk assessment, and guidance for emerging technologies.

Examines how FIFRA's risk-benefit balancing governs regulation of nanotechnology, including registration and suspension tools, device versus pesticide distinctions, and the first nano silver pesticide approval under EPA.

The lecture explains how the EPA uses TSCA to assess new chemicals, balance risks to health and the environment, and regulate nanomaterials via threshold finding and pre-manufacture notices.

Enforce nanotechnology products as pesticides under a broad definition, pursuing unregistered pesticides and nano silver claims, while petitions and court actions drive agency response under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Berkeley's 2006 ordinance and California's lifecycle analysis show how state and local regulators address nanotechnology risk and information disclosure, while Cambridge hesitated.

Explore how international regulation and standards guide nanotechnology trade, with ISO's terminology and health safety frameworks shaping non-binding norms and the technical barriers to trade.