Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Swiss Federal Offices publish Report on Risks of Engineered Nanoparticles - providing solid ground for subsequent political actions

Home > Press > Swiss Federal Offices publish Report on Risks of Engineered Nanoparticles - providing solid ground for subsequent political actions

Abstract:
The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) have published the Basis Report to the Swiss Actionplan "Risk Assessment and -management of engineered nanoparticles".

Swiss Federal Offices publish Report on Risks of Engineered Nanoparticles - providing solid ground for subsequent political actions

Switzerland | Posted on July 5th, 2007

The Actionplan is intended to outline the necessary tasks for a safe handling of engineered nanoparticles in Switzerland. If needed, measures should be proposed to protect employees, consumers and the environment. A detailed Actionplan will be available after a governmental consultation in Autumn 2007, while the implementation of the proposed measures included in the Actionplan is provided for the time between 2007 and 2009.

The new report provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge in several areas. It serves as a basis to the deduction of recommended actions and measures to protect employees, the population and the environment.

Topics discussed are

-Presence and application of engineered nanoparticles in consumer products
-Health- and environmental risks of engineered nanoparticles
-Physical and chemical hazards of engineered nanoparticles
-Current knowlodge in the field of occupational health and safety
-Analysis of the regulatory environment and the need for adaptations
-Projects and results in Technology-Assessment and communication
-Identification of research needs

The Basis Report was composed by an interdisciplinary team of experts and was critically reviewed in stakeholder consultations. Besides the main authors (consortium of The Innovation Society, St.Gallen, ETH Zurich, University of Berne and IST Lausanne), the project team involved members from FOEN and FOPH, the State Secretariate for Economic Affairs (SECO), the State Secretariate for Education and Research (SER), the Center for Technology Assessment (TA-SWISS), SUVA (Schweizerische Unfallversicherungsanstalt), Swissmedic and ETH Lausanne. The Innovation Society, St. Gallen, served as an external consultant and lead the preparation of the report.

The full report consists of 286 pages and contains short and extended summaries in German, Englisch, French and Italian. The main parts of the report are in German.

The document can be downloaded for free (pdf, 3.5 Mbyte) at
http://www.innovationsgesellschaft.ch/aktionsplan.htm

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About The Innovation Society Ltd.
The Innovation Society Ltd. ( http://www.innovationsociety.ch ) is a leading international nanotechnology consulting firm. We provide services in innovation- and risk management as well as in communication, particularly with new technologies. Our clients are international companies, authorities and NGOs.

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