Adapting the International Risk Governance Center Approach
It has been widely acknowledged that the risk governance of nanotechnology should be based on a clear understanding of risk, its management practices, and the societal risk perception by all stakeholders. The Risk Governance Framework of the International Risk Governance Center (IRGC) describes processes aiming to provide and structure scientific evidence about risk in a societal context.
The NANORIGO, RiskGONE, and GOV4NANO projects consider this framework along with the ISO 21505 and ISO 31000 standards modified in caLIBRAte to fit nanotechnology, its products, and contiguous frameworks.
The NRGF provides guidance for early identification, assessment, management, and communication of risks, involving multiple stakeholders, considering the social impacts of the various uses of nanoproducts, and coupling risk-benefit assessment.
It integrates selected methods, tools, and best practices that can improve or complement existing practices for safety and risk management.
Stakeholder needs, as continuously identified, are incorporated in the NRGF to enable tailored development for multiple stakeholder groups. The NRGF comprises interlinked steps and cross-cutting core functions and serves as the integrator of important concepts and principles, tools, and illustrations. The framework will provide web-based solutions that include the use of FAIR data to facilitate its interactive and flexible use.
Acknowledgments:
Arto Säämänena, Marie-Valentine Florinb, Francisco Huertasc, Arantxa Ballesterosc, Piet Sellked, Anna-Kaisa Viitanena, Panagiotis Isigonise, Nils Bohmerf, Dalila Antunesg, Keld Alstrup Jensenh , aFinnish Institute of Occupational Health, Tampere, Finland, bEPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, cITENE, Paterna, Spain, dDIALOGIK, Stuttgart, Germany, eUniversità Ca’ Foscari, Venezia, Italy, fDechema, Frankfurt, Germany, gFactorSocial, Lisbon, Portugal, hNational Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark
Contact us: arto.saamanen@ttl.fi