Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Jun 20. [Epub ahead of print]
Integrating Legal Liabilities in Nanomanufacturing Risk Management.
Abstract
Among other things, the wide scale development and use of nanomaterials is expected to produce costly regulatory and civil liabilities for nano-manufacturers due to lingering uncertainties, unanticipated effects, and potential toxicity. The life-cycle environmental, health and safety (ESH) risks of nanomaterials are currently being studied, but the corresponding legal risks have not been systematically addressed. With the aid of a systematic approach that holistically evaluates and accounts for uncertainties about the inherent properties of nanomaterials, it is possible to provide an order of magnitude estimate of liability risks from regulatory and litigious sources based on current knowledge. In this article, we present a conceptual framework for integrating estimated legal liabilities with EHS risks across nanomaterial life-cycle stages using empirical knowledge in the field, scientific and legal judgment, probabilistic risk assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis. Such estimates will provide investors and operators with a basis to compare different technologies and practices and will also inform regulatory and legislative bodies in determining standards that balance risks with technical advancement. We illustrate the framework through the hypothetical case of a manufacturer of nano-scale titanium dioxide and use the resulting expected legal costs to evaluate alternative risk-management actions.
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