NE3LS
NE3LS stands for, Nanotechnology, Environment, Ethics, Economics, Legal and Safety.
Nanotechnology involves materials and processes which are new to consumers and regulators. Developing and using nanotechnology responsibly is becoming increasingly important as nanotech moves from the laboratory to the marketplace. Giving serious consideration to how nanotechnology effects the environment, ethics and the economy, as well as legal and safety issues is high on the agenda for many scientific and policy conferences.
NE3LS is especially important for government and other regulators, as well as businesses working towards commercial applications of nanotechnology. Companies and end-users must be advised on the testing and regulations necessary for new materials.
Potential applications of nanotechnology raise questions about chemical identification and characterization, environmental interactions, biodgradation, detection, measurement, control and life cycle. The impact of nanotechnology on the environment is a large topic, and BC, with our active environmental sector, may be able to provide expertise, tools, measurement and characterization studies and applications relevant to protecting human health and the environment.
One of the roles of Nanotech BC will be to open dialogue with interested parties from BC's environmental, health and safety sectors on these complex and important issues. We will also encourage the creation of the special types of expertise and services which nanotechnology and nano-materials will require.
Mind the Gap
For more on the importance of ethics in Nanotechnology, you can read Mind the Gap: Science and Ethics in Nanotechnology by Anisa Mnyusiwalla, Abdallah S Daar and Peter A Singer of the University of Toronto.
More About Ethics and Nanotechnology
To read more about ethics and nanotechnology, go to the Foresight Nanotech Institute, whose mission is to ensure the beneficial implementation of nanotechnology. Founded in 1986, Foresight Nanotech Institute was the first organization to educate society about the benefits and risks of nanotechnology. Their focus is preparing society for nanotechnology, which in 1986 was a very little known science and technology. http://www.foresight.org/search.php?q=ethics