Kommentatorer:
- Professor Nicolas de Sadeleer, Saint Louis University, Brussels
Leder for evalueringen og veileder:
- Midtveisevalueringen ledes av professor Inger Johanne Sand
- Kurajs veileder er professor Christina Voigt
For disposisjon og tekstutkast, kontakt Nertila Kuraj
REACHing an Environmental Regulation for Nanotechnologies
Preventing and reducing the environmental impacts of nanosubstances and nanomaterials through the chemical policy and the shifting of producer responsibility within REACH
The term nanotechnology refers to the set of technologies and techniques for manipulating matter at the nanoscale, which have been developed in the fields of chemistry, physics, engineering, and materials science. Nanomaterials are defined as materials that have at least one dimension smaller than 100nm. At this very tiny scale, particles have different properties, like larger ratio of surface area to mass and higher surface reactivity and reaction with other materials. If, from one hand, these unique properties are the reason why nanomaterials are produced and incorporated in products and articles they are, on the other, considered also responsible for the human and environmental risks associated with nanotechnologies.
Already in 2004, the Commission was aware of the insufficiency of the existing regulatory frameworks to cover the particular problems springing from nanotechnology applications. Not much has changed on the EU regulatory landscape since then. The regulations and directives, which currently govern the environmental area of the EU law and policy, are based on parameters – such as thresholds, mass and limit emissions, and measurements techniques – that are unsuitable for nanotechnology. Thus, in order to ensure consistency in the EU law and to avoid market distortion, a harmonised policy on the subject is necessary also for achieving the high level of human and environmental health protection that the EU generally pursues. This kind of harmonisation can be the result of the revision of the existing regulations together with the adoption of new nano-oriented legal institutions.
In addition, no environmental law in the EU\EEA area does expressively cover nanotechnologies. Neither is nanotechnology contemplated in the Norwegian Product Control Act and Pollution Control Act. Notwithstanding, nano-enriched products like cosmetics, electronic devices, food and food contact materials, textiles, sport equipment… etc. are already in the market. This means that substances like nano silver and carbon nanotubes (certain forms of carbon nanotubes are already proven to have the same dangerous properties of asbestos) are entering the human body and environmental media without a clear consideration under the existing regulations, directives and national laws. It is, thus, fundamental to study and understand the gaps and inappropriateness of the current legislation in order to conceive new legal instruments on nanotechnology.
The focus on REACH1 (and the chemicals laws and policy) is owed to the fact that because of its very nature, so far, it would represent the better-equipped legal tool to deal with the impact of nanomaterials and nanosubstances on the environment. However, as the thesis points out, current shortcomings and loopholes are not allowing for an effective and exhaustive coverage of nanosubstances under REACH’s four programs: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction. Why this is so and what can be done to remedy to the current legal uncertainty, will be the object of this presentation, with particular attention to the first two phases of Registration and Evaluation.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC, OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1–849