Ethical and Scientific Issues of Nanotechnology in the Workplace

Details

• Personal Author:
  Salamanca-Buentello F ; Schulte, Paul A.
• Description:
  In the absence of scientific clarity about the potential health effects of occupational exposure to nanoparticles, a need exists for guidance in decision-making about hazards, risks, and controls. An identification of the ethical issues involved may be useful to decision-makers, particularly employers, workers, investors, and health authorities. Since the goal of occupational safety and health is the prevention of disease in workers, the situations that have ethical implications that most affect workers have been identified. These situations include the (1) identification and communication of hazards and risks by scientists, authorities, and employers, (2) workers' acceptance of risk, (3) selection and implementation of controls, (4) establishment of medical screening programs, and (5) investment in toxicologic and control research. The ethical issues involve the unbiased determination of hazards and risks, nonmaleficence (doing no harm), autonomy, justice privacy, and promoting respect for persons. As the ethical issues are identified and explored, options for decision-makers can be developed. Additionally, societal deliberations about workplace risks of nanotechnologies may be enhanced by special emphasis on small businesses and adoption of a global perspective. This article is available in: English: http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.9456 Spanish: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27011272/Cuestiones-eticas-y-cientificas-de-la-nanotecnologia-en-el-lugar-de-trabajo French: http://www.scribd.com/doc/43616822/Questions-ethiques-et-problemes-scientifiques-poses-par-la-nanotechnologie-sur-les-lieux-de-travail [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Ethics Disease-prevention Diseases Employee-exposure Employee-health Employees Hazards Health-hazards Medical-screening Nanotechnology Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Occupational-health-programs Occupational-safety-programs Occupational Safety And Health Particles Risk-analysis Risk-factors Toxicology Work-environment Worker-health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  5-12
• Volume:
  115
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031011
• Citation:
  Environ Health Perspect 2007 Jan; 115(1):5-12
• Contact Point Address:
  Paul A. Schulte, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  pschulte@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6a8baa654c3ae29ec48d0e8ff36bb16b1188093f48b068421c4c9d84ca8e8db242aa83428b0e0deba182030a8605a3c0fead7cd8fa6eb60e22eb6c076add003e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191411/cdc_191411_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 503.84 KB ]