Embedding Ethical Impact Assessment in Nanosafety Decision Support

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Risk Management
• Ethics

Background:

• Nanotechnology is rapidly advancing, integrating nanomaterials into various products and industries.
• Concerns regarding nanosafety persist among policymakers and stakeholders.
• A unified platform for discussing nanosafety and a comprehensive decision support system are currently unavailable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline a strategy for developing an innovative module for a decision support system.
• This module will support the new Risk Governance Council (RGC) for nanomaterials.
• The module will provide guidelines for Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA) for nanomaterials and nano-enabled products.

Main Methods:

• Developing guidelines for Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA).
• Adapting the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) prestandard CWA 17145-2:2017.
• Integrating the EIA module into a broader decision support system for nanomaterial risk governance.

Main Results:

• A strategic approach for creating an EIA module for nanomaterials is presented.
• Recommendations are provided for adapting existing standards to a new decision support framework.
• The proposed module aims to facilitate informed risk governance for nanomaterials.

Conclusions:

• The development of an EIA module is crucial for effective risk governance of nanomaterials.
• This initiative supports the establishment of a Risk Governance Council (RGC) through collaborative H2020 projects.
• The proposed system will enhance the assessment and management of ethical implications associated with nanomaterials.