NanoSafety
Risk management for synthetic nanoparticles
The safety and risks of nanotechnologies are not fully understood. It is not sufficient to assess the risks of nanomaterials to the environment and health. They must also be communicated to the public in a way that it can understand.
The NanoSafety project dealt with the potential environmental, health, and safety risks of nanomaterials. The health and environmental effects of nanomaterials are still uncertain, NanoSafety attempted to fill the gaps in our knowledge.
It is difficult for decision makers to regulate nanomaterials, because there are still insufficient data and sound research results to support concrete legislation, e.g. laying down threshold values or even bans.
Focus on risk management and communication
To illuminate this problem, the project focused on two major aspects of regulation: 1) Different risk management strategies for nanomaterials in the EU and 2) problems in the communication of the risks.
The results of the project were discussed with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in a number of workshops. A focus group was also asked about its concerns and expectations. The results are of assistance in the development of a future communication strategy.
Publications
Publications
- . (2012). Focus Group Discussions Inform Concern Assessment and Support Scientific Policy Advice for the Risk Governance of Nanomaterials. International Journal Of Emerging Technologies And Society, 10, 79-95. Retrieved from http://www.swinburne.edu.au/hosting/ijets/journal/V10/pdf/Article%205_Fleischer%20et%20al.pdfWebsiteRISENWBIB Abstract
This paper deals with the potential of focus groups in concern assessment. It presents results from two focus group discussions on nanoparticles with laypeople in Karlsruhe and Vienna. The method was found a suitable means of gaining first insights into people’s perceptions, conceptualisations, associations and expectations. Considering the socio-psychological background of focus group discussions, a simple interpretation of the participants’ positions voiced as stable attitudes towards a technology would be misleading and does not allow for the delineation of governance strategies. In our case, the participants were quite aware that both chances and risk have to be taken into account in order to make individual judgments and choices. But a reasonable balancing was perceived as impossible due to the lack of knowledge and clear information. With regard to risk governance, the value of focus group discussions is rather informational: The results can broaden the perspective of various actors involved in risk governance and are useful to inform concern assessment. Moreover, they also serve as small scale ‘exercises in deliberation’.
- . (2011). NanoSafety – Risk Governance of Manufactured Nanoparticles – Report on Results of Focus Groups incl. Draft Conclusions Paper – Deliverables No. 3 & 4. Wien.
- . (2011). BürgerInnen im Dialog über Nanopartikel. Ita-Newsletter, 14. Retrieved from https://epub.oeaw.ac.at/ita/ita-newsletter/NL0611.pdf#14
- . (2010). NanoSafety – Risk Governance of Manufactured Nanoparticles – Phase II, Deliverable No. 2 (p. 85). Retrieved from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/stoa/dv/3_nanosafety_int_report_/3_nanosafety_int_report_en.pdf
Conference Papers/Speeches
Conference Papers/Speeches
Duration
01/2010 - 10/2011