Environmental Law
Envt'l Law News Spring 2014, Vol. 23, No. 1
Content
- 2013-2014 Environmental Law Section Executive Committee
- Advancing Producer Responsibility To Control Land-based Sources of Marine Plastic Pollution
- Alternatives to Litigation to Address Climate Change
- Articles from the 2013 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite Panel "Dire Gyre: Is the Problem of Ocean Plastic Pollution Insoluble?
- As Jurisdictions Like California Sort Out Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing, Nimby Approaches Pop Up in Other Jurisdictions
- California Supreme Court Decision Expands Public's Right to Access Government-Held Digitally-Formatted Data
- California's "Magic" Number: Nine Goals for 2020 and Where We May Go From There
- Editor's Note...
- Environmental Law News Publications Committee
- Introduction: Is the Problem of Ocean Plastic Pollution Insoluble?
- Ocean Plastic
- Table of Contents
- The 2013 Environmental Legislative Recap: a Break in the Perpetual Gridlock
- The Problem of Plastic Debris
- Big Things Come In Small Packages: Ninth Circuit Issues Nation's First Decision on Nanotechnology
Big Things Come In Small Packages: Ninth Circuit Issues Nation’s First Decision on Nanotechnology
by Peter Hsiao* and Andrew Stanley**
In November 2013, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the first-ever court ruling on the use of nanotechnology in a consumer product. The case, Natural Resources Defense Council v. Environmental Protection Agency, 735 F.3d 873 (9th Cir. 2013), involved the EPA’s conditional registration of nanosilver as a pesticide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA") (7 U.S.C. § 136). In a detailed opinion reviewing the technical merits of the petition, the court vacated EPA’s registration decision and remanded the matter for further administrative proceedings. The court’s decision temporarily prevents nanosilver from being used as an anti-bacterial agent in textiles.
As the first of its kind, the case offers unique insight into how the risks and benefits of nanotechnology are presented to the courts and the judicial reaction to new technology and traditional notions of deference to the scientific expertise of an agency charged with protecting the public. This article briefly describes nanotechnology in general, and the regulation of nanosilver in particular. It then introduces EPA and the FIFRA framework used to register pesticides in the United States. Finally, we review the NRDC v. EPA case and explain possible implications for companies seeking to use nanotechnology in the future.