Nano Risk Framework

The Environmental Defense Fund, a US-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group, and the multinational chemical company DuPont collaborated to develop the Nano Risk Framework [171]. In the words of the developers. 

The Framework allows users flexibility in making such decisions in the 

Note This section is adapted from Section 11.2.2 of Nmotecknology and the Environment (Taylor Francis/CRC Press, 2009) and is used with permission. 

Product Stewardship Life Cycle Analysis and the Environment 

The Framework differs from a complete life cycle analysis in that it focuses on potential environmental, health, and safety risks. It does not consider resource inputs. The Nano Risk Framework comprises six steps, as described briefly below. 

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CNTs have been studied for cancer therapies despite the fact that these have been shown to accumulate to toxic levels within the organs of diverse animal models and different cell lines (Fiorito et al., 2006 Tong and Cheng, 2007). The molecular and cellular mechanisms for toxicity of carbon nanotubes have not been fully clarified. Furthermore, toxicity must be examined on the basis of multiple routes of administration (i.e., pulmonary, transdermal, ocular, oral, and intravenous) and on multiple species mammals, lower terrestrial animals, aquatic animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates), and plants (both terrestrial and aquatic). A basic set of tests for risk assessment of nanomaterials has been put forward (Nano risk framework). 

Rearden M, Janin M Nano risk framework, http //www.nanoriskframework.com/page. cfm tagID=1095. 

Nano Risk Framework, issued in June 2007 through the combined efforts of the Environmental Defense Fund and DuPont, includes a six-step guidance framework for the responsible development of nanoscale materials. They are (1) Describe the material and its apphcation, (2) profile fife cycle(s), (3) evaluate risks, (4) assess risk management, (5) decide, document, and act, and (6) review and adapt. 

Environmental Defense and DuPont, 2007. Nano Risk Framework. EDF, New York. 

Exhibit 2 is a worksheet adapted directly from the Nano Risk Framework. This worksheet details the six steps described in the previous section, providing a descriptive and analytical basis for nanomaterial risk control. It can be viewed as a template to organize and evaluate the information in the Framework and outline subsequent decisions. 

Environmental Defense and DuPont NANO Risk Framework. Environmental Defense and DuPont teamed up to develop a "comprehensive, practical, and flexible" framework intended for companies and organizations to evaluate and address potential nanomaterial risks. ... 

In parallel with the laws and regulations described above, trade organizations and working groups have developed voluntary initiatives for product stewardship. Two of the best known are Responsible Care and the Nano Risk Framework. 

Environmental Defense-DuPont Nano Partnership. (2007). NANO risk framework. 

In June 2007, Environmental Defense and DuPont launched a risk management framework for nanomaterials entitled, "Nano Risk... 

A proactive approach to nanotechnology EHStS risk control has recently been published by the Partnership of the Environmental Defense and DuPont (June 2007) called "Nano Risk Eramework." The authors state, "This is our proposal for a comprehensive, practical, and flexible Nano Risk Eramework—a systematic and disciplined process—to evaluate and address the potential environmental, health and safety risks of nanoscale materials." While addressed by Ostraat elsewhere in this book and in more detail, the Nano Risk Eramework is a disciplined approach, structured in six steps and is described by the framework authors in the following manner. 

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