A Basis for Action - Commission de l'éthique de la science et de la ...

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of acronyms................................................................................................................................... v
Summary, Recommendations and Commentaries ........................................................................vii
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................1
CHAPTER 1 – A NEW AND EMERGING WORLD: THE UNIVERSE OF
NANOTECHNOLOGY .............................................................. 5
A world to discover....................................................................................................................... 5
Nanoscience and nanotechnology: on a nanometer scale...........................................................7
Important aspects to consider: a premise for ethical questioning .............................................9
The size of nanometric components ................................................................................................9
The new properties of nanometric matter .......................................................................................9
Manipulating material....................................................................................................................... 10
Multidisciplinary approaches and the convergence of disciplines ............................................. 11
A general fascination........................................................................................................................ 11
Main areas of research and innovation.........................................................................................13
Nanomaterials................................................................................................................................... 13
Nanoelectronics................................................................................................................................ 15
Nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine......................................................................................... 16
Nanometrology................................................................................................................................. 16
Expectations and concerns worth considering.......................................................................17
Projected benefits ............................................................................................................................17
In the health sector........................................................................................................................... 17
In the environment sector............................................................................................................... 20
In the information technology sector ............................................................................................ 21
In the agriculture and food sector.................................................................................................. 21
From fiction to reality.....................................................................................................................22
The self-replication of nanorobots and global ecophagy............................................................ 22
Promises that sometimes prove unrealistic................................................................................... 24
Raising questions, upholding values .............................................................................................24
CHAPTER 2 – LOOKING AT METHODS FOR MANAGING THE SECTOR............27
Risk and nanotechnology...........................................................................................................27
The nature of risks to consider......................................................................................................28
Assessment and risk management methods: a few observations and questions...................29
The current framework ..............................................................................................................31
Canadian statutes and regulations .................................................................................................31
Québec statutes and regulations....................................................................................................33
International instruments ...............................................................................................................34
Supporting industry.........................................................................................................................35
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