Precautionary Principle in Nanotech

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A presentation from John Weckert about Precautionary Principle in Nanotechnology is available here. The presentation has not answered the question of when can precautionary principle be applied to nanotech but it provides a good overview on the classification of risks associated to the technology as well as other problems surrounding it.

When exercised, precautionary principle may result in substantial impediments in international trade and eventually halt research. I have also discussed the basics of precautionary principle in international law in my past post.