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“One to Rule Them All”? – The Standardisation of Nanotechnologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

François Thoreau
François Thoreau*
Affiliation:
Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS) Spiral, University of Liège
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Extract

Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are a field of blooming technological applications, developed or manufactured at the nanoscale (a billionth of a meter). At this scale, matter shows new and unexpected properties. These may significantly differ from one case to the other, which results in a great diversity of different industrial applications, and eventually in very heterogeneous end-user products. As a matter of fact, the generic dimension of nanotechnologies, understood as a platform or enabling technology, drives their diversity, and potentially affects almost every industrial sector.

Type
Reports
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 421 - 426
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

1 ISO uses the following working definition in the Business Plan of its technical committee TC229 (p. 3): “Nanotechnology is the application of scientific knowledge to control and utilize matter at the nanoscale, where size-related properties and phenomena can emerge. The nanoscale is the size range from approximately 1nm to 100 nm)”.

2 Jaspers, Nico, “How to Avoid International Trade Conflicts”, 2 European Journal of Risk Regulation (2010), p. 167 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Desmoulin-Canselier, Sonia, “La définition des notions fondamentales: mise en perspective juridique. Les difficultés terminologiques de l'encadrement juridique des activités scientifiques et des objets techno-scientifiques”, in Lacour, Stéphanie, La régulation des nanotechnologies. Clair-obscur normatif (Brussels: Larcier, 2010), p. 19 Google Scholar; most notably, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for Scholars recently updated its inventory of nano-enabled and nano-manufactured consumer products, which now includes more than 1.300 references, available on the Internet at <http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

3 Laurent, Brice, Les politiques des nanotechnologies. Pour un traitement démocratique d'une science émergente (Paris: Charles Léopold-Mayer, 2010)Google Scholar; D’Silva, Joel and Bowman, Diana, “To Label or Not to Label? – It's More than a Nano-sized Question”, 4 European Journal of Risk Regulation (2010), p. 2.Google Scholar

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9 As shows, e.g., European Commission, “Communication on the Integration of Environmental Aspects into European Standardisation”, COM(2004) 130 final. It states that “Standards, as voluntary tools, are crucial and it is vital that all the stakeholders involved in their development maximise their potential and thus enhance their role in protecting the environment” (p. 3).

10 ISO once defined what is a “technical norm”, see ISO/CEI 2/2004 on Standardisation and related activities.

11 Diana Bowman and Graeme Hodge, supra note 6, p. 26.

12 ISO/TC 229 Business Plan, p. 2, available on the Internet at<http://bit.ly/pennano> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

13 Stefan Timmermans and Steven Epstein, supra note 8, p. 77.

14 Technical Reports – TR, Technical Specifications – TS, or Publicly Available Specifications – PAS.

15 Peter Hatto, “Panel discussion: What should be the role of ISO in the governance of nanotechnologies?”, Workshop organized jointly by Standard No (the Norvegian NSB), the Work Research Institute (WRI) and the University of Maastricht (UM), held in Maastricht, May 18th, 2010. Peter Hatto chairs ISO/TC229 on nanotechnology.

16 Tournay, Virginie and Vinck, Dominique, “Avant-propos: la régulation des nanotechnologies, un enjeu de standardisation historiographique et politique”, 61 Quaderni, pp. 5–11, see esp. pp. 5–6Google Scholar; see also Larédo, Philippe, “La recherche européenne et les enjeux des nouvelles sciences dominantes”, in Leresche, Jean-Philippe, Larédo, Philippe and Weber, Karl (eds), Recherche et enseignement supérieur face à l'internationalisation. France, Suisse et Union européenne (Lausanne: Presses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes, 2009).Google Scholar

17 For example, in a communication from the EC, which is not legally binding but may turn out to have legal implications, i.e. in Court.

18 For example, in a directive from the EC.

19 European Commission, “Communication on the role of European standardisation in the framework of European policies and legislation”, COM(2004)674 final. It states that “Standardisation is an integral part of the Council's and the Commission's policies to carry out “better regulation”, to increase competitiveness of enterprises and to remove barriers to trade at international level”.

20 European Commission, “Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe 2005–2009. Second Implementation Report 2007–2009”, COM(2009)607 final, pp. 5–6.

21 Diana Bowman and Graeme Hodge, supra note 6, p. 12.

22 European Commission, “Commission Recommendation on a code of conduct for responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research”, COM(2008)424 final.

23 European Commission, Science, Economy and Society Highlights 2009 (Brussels: Commission of the European Communities, 2010), p. 65.Google Scholar

24 Code of Conduct, op. cit., point 4.1.12.

25 According to Black's definition of regulation, cf. Bowman, Diana and Van Calster, Geert, “Smoke that Thunders: Risk, Confusion and Regulatory Frameworks”, in Kjølberg, Kamilla Lein and Wickson, Fern, Micro meets Nano. Social Perspectives on Nanoscale Sciences and Technologies (Bergen: Pan Stanford, 2010), pp. 359–386, esp. the quote p. 365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

26 National Science and Technology Council, “National Nanotechnology Initiative. The Initiative and Its Implementation Plan”, Washington D.C., 2000.

27 National Science and Technology Council, “National Nanotechnology Initiative. Strategic Plan”, Washington D.C., 2011, see pp. 1–2.

28 The International Electrotechnical Commission's Technical Committee 113 (IEC/TC113), ASTM International's Committee E56, or the OECD's Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials.

29 CEN/TC352, missions and business plan available on the Internet, <http://www.cen.eu/cen/Sectors/Sectors/Nanotechnologies/Pages/default.aspx> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

30 European Commission, “Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe 2005–2009. Second Implementation Report 2007–2009”, COM(2009)607 final, p. 6.

31 Bowman, Diana, D’Silva, Joel and Van Calster, Geert, “Defining Nanomaterials for the Purpose of Regulation within the European Union”, 2 European Journal of Risk Regulation (2010), pp. 115–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

32 Joel D’Silva and Diana Bowman, “To Label or Not to Label?”, supra note 3, pp. 420–427.

33 CEN/TC352 Business Plan, pp. 4–5, available on the Internet at <http://bit.ly/centc352> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

34 ISO/TC34 Business Plan, available on the Internet at <http://bit.ly/iso34> (last accessed on 8 July 2011), p. 27.

35 ISO/TC217 Business Plan, available on the Internet at <http://bit.ly/iso217> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

36 Aurélie Delemarle, “Standards and market construction in nanotechnologies: TC 229”, Workshop Maastricht, op. cit., May 18th, 2010.

37 ISO, “ISO launches work on Nanotechnology Standards”, available on the Internet at <http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref980> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

38 ISO/TC229 Business Plan current version is the 4th draft and was released on 12 January 2011.

39 IEC/TC113, “Nanotechnology Standardization for Electrical and Electronic Products and Systems in the Field of Nanotechnology”.

40 ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 7.

41 Except when there is clear demand and there is no existing committee with expertise in the area, see ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 1 and p. 6.

42 As ISO/TC229 Business Plan refers to the different generations of nanotechnologies as they are expected to occur, arguably, it might be that standards would adapt, possibly by making their scope more precise, to new situations (p. 4).

43 ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 5.

44 In extenso: “1. Support the sustainable and responsible development and global dissemination of these emerging technologies; 2. Facilitate global trade in nanotechnologies, nanotechnology products and nanotechnology enabled systems and products; 3. Support improvement in quality, safety, security, consumer and environmental protection, together with the rational use of natural resources in the context of nanotechnologies; 4. Promote good practice in the production, use and disposal of nanomaterials, nanotechnology products and nanotechnology enabled systems and products”. ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 7.

45 ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 1.

46 Released standards are available on the Internet at <http://bit.ly/tc229publ> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

47 Most important is ISO/TS 27687:2008 on Terminology and definitions for nano-objects: Nanoparticle, nanofibre and nanoplate, see also ISO/TS 80004-1:2010 on Vocabulary (Part 1: Core terms).

48 Jaspers, Nico, “How to Avoid International Trade Conflicts”, 2 European Journal of Risk Regulation (2010), pp. 167–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

49 Geert Van Calster, “The regulation of nanotechnologies in the EU”, Symposium The Governance of Nanotechnologies in Belgian and European contexts, Université Catholique de Louvain, held in Louvain-la-Neuve, March 18th, 2011.

50 Aldrich, Howard E. and Fiol, Marlene, “Fools rush in? The Institutional Context of Industry Creation”, 19(4) Academy of Management Review, pp. 645–670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

51 However, it is unclear how ISO defines and applies democracy.

52 Ellen-Marie Forsberg, “Standardisation in the Field of Nanotechnology: Some Issues of Legitimacy”, Online First Science and Engineering Ethics, esp. p. 2.

53 A complete list of participants is available on the Internet at <http://bit.ly/tc229members> (last accessed on 8 July 2011).

54 Ellen-Marie Forsberg, “Standadisation in the Field of Nanotechnology”, supra note 52.

55 In his classical study, Scharpf distinguishes input and output legitimacy, to which Forsberg adds “throughput”; see Scharpf, Fritz, Governing in Europe: effective and democratic? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

56 These might be difficult to afford if one intends to gather all nanorelated standards. For instance, the most emblematic one (ISO/ TS 27687:2008, Terminology and definitions for nano-objects – Nanoparticle, nanofibre and nanoplate) costs about 45 €.

57 For example, see Friends of the Earth Australia report, FoEA, “Discussion paper on nanotechnology standardisation and nomenclature issues”, December 2008, available on the Internet at <http://bit.ly/foeanano> (last accessed on 8 July 2011). This paper expresses concerns about the firstly released standards of TC229.

58 ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 6.

59 With 15 P-members and 5 O-members.

60 With only 5 P-members total. See ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 6.

61 ISO/TC229 Business Plan, p. 4.

62 Such as those described by Rip and Von Amerom, who sometimes refer to “emerging irreversibilities”. See Rip, Arie and Von Amerom, Marloen (2009), “Emerging de facto Agendas Around Nanotechnology: Two Cases full of Contingencies, Lock-outs, and Lock-ins”, in Kaiser, Mario et al. (eds), Governing Future Technologies. Nanotechnology and the Rise of an Assessment Regime (Netherlands: Springer), Sociology of Science Yearbook, Vol. 27.Google Scholar

63 Stefan Timmermans and Steven Epstein, supra note 8, p. 85.