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An Open Letter to the International Nanotechnology Community At Large

Friday, April 13, 2007
Posted in Environment Health Human Rights Sustainability Technology | Tagged Environment, Health, Human Rights, Sustainability, Technology

Civil Society-Labor Coalition Rejects Fundamentally Flawed DuPont-ED�Proposed Framework

Urges All Parties To Reject The Public Relations Campaign

April 12, 2007

To All Interested Parties:

We, the undersigned, submit this open letter to the international�
nanotechnology community at large.� We are a coalition of public�
interest, non-profit and labor organizations that actively work on�
nanotechnology issues, including workplace safety, consumer health,�
environmental welfare, and broader societal impacts.

DuPont Chemical Company (DuPont) and Environmental Defense (ED)�
jointly have proposed a voluntary “risk assessment” framework for�
nanotechnology.� These groups intend to circulate their proposed�
framework both in the U.S. and abroad for consideration and/or�
adoption by various relevant oversight organizations, including the�
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We reject outright the proposed voluntary framework as fundamentally�
flawed.� We strongly object to any process in which broad public�
participation in government oversight of nanotech policy is usurped�
by industry and its allies. We made the decision not to engage in�
this process out of well-grounded concerns that our participation -�
even our skeptical participation - would be used to legitimize the�
proposed framework as a starting point or ending point for discussing�
nanotechnology policy, oversight and risk analysis.� The history of�
other voluntary regulation proposals is bleak; voluntary regulations�
have often been used to delay or weaken rigorous regulation and�
should be seen as a tactic to delay needed regulation and forestall�
public involvement.

Nanotechnology’s rapid commercialization requires focused�
environmental, health and safety research, meaningful and open�
discussion of broader societal impacts, and urgent oversight action.��
Unfortunately, the DuPont-ED proposal is, at best, a public relations�
campaign that detracts from urgent worldwide oversight priorities for�
nanotechnology; at worst, the initiative could result in highly�
reckless policy and a precedent of abdicating policy decisions to�
industry by those entrusted with protecting our people, communities,�
and land.� We strongly urge all who have an interest in�
nanotechnology’s future to reject this proposed framework.� Respect�
for adequate worker safety, people’s health, and environmental�
protection demands nothing less.

Respectfully submitted,

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
Beyond Pesticides
Brazilian Research Network in Nanotechnology, Society and Environment
Center for Environmental Health
Center for Food Safety
Corporate Watch
Edmonds Institute
ETC Group
Friends of the Earth Australia
Friends of the Earth Europe
Friends of the Earth United States
Greenpeace
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Center for Technology Assessment
International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant,�
Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sciencecorps
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Third World Network
United Steelworkers of America