| Summary: |
The International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) is an independent organization which focuses on emerging risks to human health, the environment, and society. The objective of the IRGC Nanotechnology Risk Governance project is to develop frameworks for the risk governance of nanotechnologyto provide recommendations to decision makers. This document is the second of a four-volume series supporting this project. In preparation for a workshop on January 30-31, 2006 and a conference on July 6-7, 2006, surveys were sent to 112 participants, including multinationals, nanotechnology start-ups, and standardization organizations. These surveys asked a variety of questions regarding nanotechnology, including areas of research, organizational focus, industrial connections, etc. This document contains the survey responses in both condensed and verbatim forms. These surveys had a lower response rate than those sent to governments (volume A). It is suspected that confidentiality issues may have affected the response rate. Respondents largely agreed that current knowledge is insufficient for creating new regulations, any new regulations should be careful not to stifle innovation, and that prolonged regulatory uncertainty would harm the industry. |