Posted: March 10, 2008 |
Pledge on regulation of nanotechnology products |
(Nanowerk News) After Wayne Swan took the budgetary axe to the $21.5million Australian National Nanotechnology Strategy in January, Science Minister Kim Carr yesterday vowed to establish a system for regulating the commercial fruits of nanotechnology.
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There are no national or international standards or testing procedures for food, packaging and agricultural products containing nano-materials - particles manufactured at the scale of atoms and molecules.
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"The Government is actively developing an appropriate regulatory framework for nanotechnology," Senator Carr said.
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The effort was part of a review of the nation's innovation system and the work of the remaining two years of theNational Nanotechnology Strategy, originally funded for four years by the previous government, he said.
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"One of the key goals ... is to address the regulatory requirements in relation to the potential health, safety and environmental impacts of technology," Senator Carr said.
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The concern is that materials may behave in novel ways at the nano scale, posing unknown risks to human and environmental health.
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The statement from Senator Carr - the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research - came as environment group Friends of the Earth (FOE) released a review of applications and potential risks of nanotechnology in food and agriculture.
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The FOE report found that 104 foods, food packaging and agricultural products containing nano-materials were on sale internationally. It also found nano-products were sold in Australia, despite assurances from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand.
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"We know manufactured nano-materials are already in some products found on Australian supermarket shelves and used in Australian kitchens," said report co-author Georgia Miller.
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Senator Carr welcomed the report and said he and Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, would meet representatives of FOE this week.
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