I. Introduction

On May 19, 2006, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) cosponsored a Symposium entitled "Nanotechnology Governance: Environmental Management From an International Perspective" (ELI Symposium). The ELI Symposium brought together over 40 key stakeholders, including corporate, government, and nonprofit leaders as well as law firm partners and academics. The ELI Symposium focused on the development of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) governance structures--including traditional regulation, voluntary programs, industry standards, disclosure, and other approaches--from an international perspective.

Nanotechnology or nanotech is the science and technology of controlling matter at the nanoscale. The National Science Foundation estimates that nanotechnology may surpass the impact of the Industrial Revolution and could be a $1 trillion market by 2015. Nanotechnologies will be employed in many industries ranging from health care to electronics to transportation. Hundreds of products that use nanomaterials are already available today.

Nanomaterials offer the potential for many environmental benefits including remediation technologies, monitoring, and green production. Little is known, however, about the potential human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnologies. Although the research addressing the health risks of exposure to nanomaterials is just beginning, a recent article in Science described some of the initial work conducted, noting that the studies suggest that nanomaterials "are not inherently benign and that they affect biological behaviors at the cellular, subcellular, and protein levels." In addition, the article notes that "some nanoparticles readily travel throughout the body, deposit in target organs, penetrate cell membranes, lodge in mitochondria, and may trigger injurious responses."