New publications

Technology assessment (TA) is committed to impartial expertise as well as basic democratic values. And beyond that? What is the normative framework within which TA operates? Is it always the same or does it differ depending on the topic, societal task or country and political culture? How should TA deal with both normative claims from outside and those that originate from within TA itself? In what ways can it identify and process normative claims, and how can and should TA position itself among conflicting political interests and divergent world views? Is ‘neutral’ expertise a help or a hindrance here, and can there (still) be such a thing at all? The authors of this volume attempt to answer such questions or at least to disentangle the problems that TA, with its evergrowing diversity of approaches, faces in times of increasing political and economic antagonism and accelerated technological development.

Dieses Buch bietet mittlerweile in dritter Auflage einen Überblick über klassische Gesellschaftsdiagnosen. Die Darstellung reicht von den Frühformen philosophischer Zeitdiagnostik bis hinauf zu soziologischen Entwürfen, die sich auf unsere gegenwärtige Gesellschaft beziehen.

Wissensgesellschaft, Risikogesellschaft, Sicherheitsgesellschaft – die Liste einprägsamer Etiketten, die ihre Gesellschaft auf den Begriff zu bringen beanspruchen, ist lang. Dieses Buch bietet mittlerweile in zweiter Auflage einen Überblick über klassische Gesellschaftsdiagnosen. Die Darstellung reicht von den Frühformen philosophischer Zeitdiagnostik bis hinauf zu soziologischen Entwürfen, die sich auf unsere gegenwärtige Gesellschaft beziehen.
Gelten sie zuweilen auch als etwas unsolide, so lässt diese Überblicksdarstellung ebenso den Reiz erkennen, der noch heute von Gesellschaftsdiagnosen ausgeht.

Authors:
Ferrari, Arianna
Baumann, Martina
Coenen, Christopher
Frank, Daniel
Hennen, Leonhard
Moniz, António
Torgersen, Helge
Torgersen, Jan
Van Bodegom, Lisa
Van Duijne, Freija
Geesink, Ingrid
Van der Meulen, Barend
Mordini, Emilio
Riisgaard, Karen
Nielsen, Rasmus Øjvind

Nanomaterials can improve the properties of food contact materials. Innovations of this kind are of particular interest for food packaging made out of plastic materials. The purpose of their use is to improve food storage and so to guarantee both freshness and quality. A further goal is to improve the technical properties of materials in order to make them sturdier more resistant to abrasion, and easier to process. Food contact materials are subject to a number of EU consumer protection regulations. Nanomaterials require authorisation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), being responsible for assessing their safety. For nanomaterials authorised for use in the EU, specifications and restrictions are laid down in order to prevent consumers being exposed to them or to keep exposure as low as possible, and so to rule out any danger to health. At the end of the product lifetime, workers of recycling and waste treatment facilities may be exposed to higher levels of ultra ne particles or particulate matter may also be released unintentionally. To date, however, it has not been demonstrated that recycling polymers containing nanomaterials leads to any increased exposure of employees. With regard to environmental protection, little is known at present about the specific behaviour of nanomaterials and composites during waste treatment processes. There is also a need for comprehensive research on how far nanomaterials can be recycled, in order to develop sustainable nanotechnology.

A number of concepts address safety-relevant issues of innovative materials and products. The Safe-by-Design (SbD) concept is one of these, and aims to take account of these safety issues early on and during the entire product development process. The nano-specific concepts of SbD are intended to address prevailing uncertainties about potential risks to the environment and human health at the beginning stages in the development of new nanomaterials and products. The basic assumption of the SbD concept is that risks can be reduced through the choice of materials, products, tools and technologies, making them as safe as possible. Particular attention is paid to the product development stage, when it is still possible to intervene to control the selection of these factors. In line with the precautionary principle, the early integration of safety in the innovation process is generally seen as desirable.