Research on the societal impacts of nanotechnology: a preliminary comparison of USA, Europe and Japan

Our plain-English summary of Research on the societal impacts of nanotechnology: a preliminary comparison of USA, Europe and Japan, by M. Matsuda, G. Hunt (Bio-medical Materials and Engineering, 2009).

The study

• Authors: M. Matsuda, G. Hunt
• Journal: Bio-medical Materials and Engineering
• Published: 2009;19(2-3):259-67
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

We initiate some comparisons between Japan, Europe and USA on how far there is governmental support for the ethical, legal, social and environmental dimensions of nanotechnology development. It is evident that in the USA and Europe nanotechnology is now firmly embedded in the consideration of ELSI. Yet Japan has not yet adequately recognized the importance of these dimensions. The history of bioethics in Japan is short. In Europe, as early as 2004, a nanotechnology report by the UK's Royal Society referred to the possibility of some nanotubes and fibres having asbestos-like toxicity. The negative history of asbestos in Europe and USA is not yet fully identified as a Japanese problem. Japan is therefore in the process of seeking how best to address societal aspects of nanotechnology. Should the precautionary principle be applied to Japan's nanotechnology initiative as in Europe? Should 5-10% of the government's nanotechnology budget be allocated to ELSI research and measures? We propose that the government and industrial sector in Japan play a much more proactive part in the regional and international growth of research into the wider risk assessment, social, health and environmental context of nanotechnologies, not simply try to borrow lessons from the West at a later date.

In plain English

This was a review article comparing how far governments in the USA, Europe (mainly the UK) and Japan supported research on the ethical, legal, social and environmental dimensions (called ELSI) of nanotechnology. It was not a study of asbestos exposure. Asbestos was discussed as an early warning from past public health harms. The authors reported that in the USA between 5% and 10% of the National Nanotechnology Initiative budget went to research on the societal dimension. They reported that a 2007 report from Japanese officials described the study of ELSI in Japan as 'low'. They described UK initiatives, including a voluntary industry reporting scheme that they called an admitted failure. They noted that a 2004 UK Royal Society report raised the possibility of some nanotubes and fibres having asbestos-like toxicity. They also cited another author's estimates of asbestos-related cancer deaths in Japan: 59,000 in 2000 to 2029 and 103,000 in 2000 to 2039. The authors concluded that Japan had not yet adequately recognized the importance of these dimensions. They recommended that Japanese government departments and industrial companies seriously consider applying the precautionary principle.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: review article (policy comparison and commentary, not original research)
• Who was studied: government and institutional support for ELSI research on nanotechnology in the USA, Europe (particularly the UK) and Japan
• Exposure: nanomaterials and nanoparticles in general; asbestos and asbestosis discussed as an early-warning example from earlier public health harms
• Main results:
  • In the USA, the authors reported that between 5% and 10% of the National Nanotechnology Initiative budget goes on research on the societal dimension, which includes ELSI
  • A 2007 report from Japanese officials acknowledged that the study of ELSI in Japan is 'low'
  • The UK's Voluntary Reporting Scheme for engineered nanoscale materials, launched by DEFRA in 2006 and piloted for two years, was described as an admitted failure
  • The 2004 Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering report referred several times to the possibility of some nanotubes and fibres having asbestos-like toxicity
  • Citing another author's estimate, the article reported projected asbestos-related cancer deaths in Japan of 59,000 in 2000 to 2029 and 103,000 in 2000 to 2039 (with 2,000 estimated in 1990 to 1999)
  • Asbestos was a prohibited import in Japan until the 1960s, so according to the authors it came into commercial use in Japan 25 years later than in the USA and Europe
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, unlike the USA and Europe, Japan had not yet adequately recognized the importance of ELSI dimensions of nanotechnology. They recommended that Japanese government departments and industrial companies seriously consider applying the precautionary principle.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Precautionary Principle.

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