^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

Think Tanks Disagree about Nano Regs
Everyone agrees that nanotechnology will play a prominent role in manufacturing, if that is the right term for making things on the atomic and subatomic level. Everyone agrees that federal agencies will have to rethink their current regulatory schemes in light of the novel challenges presented by nanotech. There is, however, considerable disagreement on how agencies should respond to this new regulatory challenge.

On January 11, 2006, the Woodrow Wilson International Center published a report that claimed existing laws are inadequate for nanotech regulation. The WWIC report recommended the enactment of new laws specifically focused on nantoech regulatory issues.

On January 18, the Pacific Research Institute published a position statement disagreeing with the WWIC report. The first paragraph of the PRI statement warns, "some observers dangerously press for greater government oversight in the [nanotech] sector." The PRI estimates "that by 2015, the global marketplace for products that use the technology will reach US$ 1 trillion and employ two million workers." In contrast to WWIC, the PRI believes that with regard to nanotech regs, "the best approach is the light regulation that already exists, combined with a strong scientific culture of self-regulation."