VIII. Manufacturer Liability

Nanomaterials have exploded in the marketplace, billed as miracle substances with remarkable qualities that make them desirable in almost every sector of the economy. Like asbestos when it was first introduced to the market, the public health and environmental impacts of nanomaterials have been poorly studied. Even more so than asbestos, nanomaterials possess qualities (shape, size, chemical reactivity) that have the potential to make them especially risky. Nanomaterials are being sold to the public at large in consumer products, without any notice or warning of their potential hazard. In addition, like the tobacco industry, nanoindustries seem content to market their products without fully understanding the potential risks or informing the public of those risks.

All who market nano-products, including nanomaterial developers, handlers and commercial users, the makers of products containing nanomaterials and retailers who sell nano-containing products to the public must be held accountable for liabilities incurred from their products. While product liability claims are the most likely liability for the nanomaterials industry, other forms of liability, including negligence, derivative liability, nuisance, fraud and misrepresentation are relevant. In addition, nanomaterial oversight regimes should include financial mechanisms, funded by manufacturers and distributors, ensuring that funds are available to compensate and/or remediate any potential health, worker, or environmental damages. Potential injured parties include individual members of the general public, classes of individuals who have experienced similar harm (such as workers or users of consumer products), federal, state and local governments (or units thereof), foreign nations, investors, insurance companies, and labor unions. Both those funding commercialization and those actively engaged in nanotechnology sectors are responsible for the adequacy of the product stewardship and any damage incurred because of failure to take precautionary protective actions to protect people or the environment.