Center for Food Safety and International Center for Technology Assessment, San Francisco, USA.
J Law Med Ethics. 2009 Winter;37(4):706-23. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2009.00442.x.
Good governance for nanotechnology and nanomaterials is predicated on principles of general good governance. This paper discusses on what lessons we can learn from the oversight of past emerging technologies in formulating these principles. Nanotechnology provides us a valuable opportunity to apply these lessons and a duty to avoid repeating past mistakes. To do that will require mandatory regulation, grounded in precaution, that takes into account the uniqueness of nanomaterials. Moreover, this policy dialogue is not taking place in a vacuum. In applying the lessons of the past, nanotechnology provides a window to renegotiate our public's social contract on chemicals, health, the environment, and risks. Emerging technologies illuminate structural weaknesses, providing a crucial chance to ameliorate lingering regulatory inadequacies and provide much needed updates of existing laws.
良好的纳米技术和纳米材料治理是建立在一般良好治理原则基础上的。本文讨论了我们可以从过去新兴技术的监督中吸取哪些经验教训，以制定这些原则。纳米技术为我们提供了一个宝贵的机会来应用这些经验教训，并有责任避免重蹈覆辙。要做到这一点，就需要在基于预防原则的基础上进行强制性监管，充分考虑到纳米材料的独特性。此外，这场政策对话并非在真空中进行。在应用过去的经验教训时，纳米技术为重新协商我们公众在化学品、健康、环境和风险方面的社会契约提供了一个窗口。新兴技术揭示了结构上的弱点，为改善长期存在的监管不足提供了至关重要的机会，并为现有法律提供了急需的更新。
