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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=1>> COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Design a Nano-Hazard
Symbol<BR>(ETC Group announces International Graphic Design
Competition) > CALL FOR ENTRIES. (More info below).<BR>>
<BR>> Biotechnology, nuclear power, toxic chemicals, electromagnetic
radiation -- each of these technological hazards has a
universally recognized warning symbol associated with it. So why
not nanotechnology -- the world's most powerful (and
potentially dangerous) technology?<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=1><FONT size=2>> First: Why Do We Need a
Nano-Hazard Symbol?<BR>> <BR>> Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter
at the tiny level of atoms and molecules, has created a new class of materials
with unusual properties and new toxicities.<BR>> <BR>> It used to be that
nanotechnology was the stuff of science fiction. <BR>> Today, however,
there are over one thousand nanotechnology companies worldwide.
Nanoparticles, nanotubes and other engineered <BR>> nanomaterials are
already in use in hundreds of everyday consumer products, raising
significant health, safety and environmental concerns. Nanoparticles are
able to move around the body and the environment more readily than
larger particles of pollution. Because of their extremely small size and
large surface area nanoparticles <BR>> may be more reactive and more
toxic than larger particles of the same substance. They have been
compared to asbestos by leading insurance <BR>> companies who worry
their health impact could lead to massive claims. <BR>> At least one
US-based insurance company has canceled coverage of small companies
involved with nanotechnology. Unlike more familiar <BR>> forms of
pollution arising from new technologies, nano-hazards (potentially
endangering consumers, workers and the environment) have <BR>> yet to
be fully characterized, regulated or even subject to safety testing. The US
Food and Drug Administration will have its first public meeting about
regulating nanomaterials on October 10, 2006. <BR>> Most governments
worldwide have yet to even begin thinking about nano-regulation. Nonetheless,
nanoparticles invisible to the naked eye are already in foods, cosmetics,
pesticides and clothing without even being labelled. Every day
laboratory and factory workers could be <BR>> inhaling and ingesting
nanoparticles while the rest of us may be unwittingly putting them on
our skin, in our body or in the environment.<BR>> <BR>> It's not just a
safety question. Nanotechnology also raises new societal hazards: The
granting of patents on nano-scale materials and processes, and even
elements of the periodic table, allows for <BR>> increased corporate
power and monopoly over the smallest parts of nature. Some designer
nanomaterials may come to replace natural <BR>> products such as
cotton, rubber and metals -- displacing the livelihoods of some of
the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. In the near
future the merger of nanotechnology with <BR>> biotechnology (in
nano-biotechnology applications such as synthetic <BR>> biology) will
lead to new designer organisms, modified at the molecular level,
posing new biosafety threats. Nano-enabled technologies also aim to
'enhance' human beings and 'fix' the <BR>> disabled, a goal that raises
troubling ethical issues and the specter of a new divide between the
technologically "improved" and "unimproved."<BR>> <BR>> ETC Group has
called for a moratorium on nanoparticle production and release to allow for
a full societal debate and until such time as precautionary regulations
are in place to protect workers, consumers and the environment.
Standard setting bodies around the world are now <BR>> scrambling to
agree on nomenclature that can describe nanoparticles and nanomaterials. A
common, internationally-recognized symbol <BR>> warning of the presence
of engineered nanomaterials is equally overdue.<BR>> <BR>> For a short and
simple introduction to Nanotechnology see "A Tiny Primer on Nano-scale
Technologies," available online: </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=1><FONT size=2>http://</FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?id=55"><FONT
face=Arial
size=2>www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?id=55</FONT></A><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=1>> Concerned citizens everywhere are invited to
submit their designs for a universal Nanotechnology Hazard Symbol at:
</FONT><A href="http://www.etcgroup.org/"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>http://www.etcgroup.org/</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=1> nanohazard<BR>> <BR>> Entries will be judged by a panel
of eminent judges convened by the ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion
Technology and Concentration, </FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>www.etcgroup.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=1>). These judges
include Dr. Vyvyan Howard (Editor of the Journal of Nanotoxicity), Dr.
Gregor Wolbring (The Canadian Advisory Commitee on Nanotech Standardisation),
Chee Yoke Ling (Third World Network), Claire Pentecost (Associate
Professor and Chair of the Photography Department at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago), Rory O'Neill (Editor of Hazards magazine) and Dr.
Alexis Vlandas (Nanotechnology Spokesperson for International Network
of <BR>> Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility). Entries
will also be judged by participants at the World Social Forum,
Nairobi, Kenya, 20-25 January 2007.<BR>> <BR>> The winning entry will be
submitted to international standard-setting bodies responsible for
hazard characterisation, to international governmental organisations and to
national governments as a proposed symbol for nanotechnology
hazards.<BR>> <BR>> Closing date: 8 January 2007 A gallery of entries
submitted will be available at </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=1>http://</FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/gallery2/v/nanohazard/"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>www.etcgroup.org/gallery2/v/nanohazard/</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>> <BR><FONT size=1>> Details Of The Competition:<BR>> We are
asking concerned people everywhere (including artists, designers,
scientists, students, regulators and members of the public) to submit possible
designs for an international Nano-Hazard warning symbol that could be
used to identify the presence of nanmoaterials. This symbol could, for example,
be placed on products containing nanomaterials, in laboratories or factories
where workers <BR>> handle nanoparticles, or on containers transporting
nanomaterials. <BR>> The symbol should be simple, easy to
recognize and communicate clearly the new, potential hazards that
result when matter is manipulated at the nanoscale (1 billionth of a metre --
the size of atoms and molecules).<BR>> <BR>> We encourage participants to
be as creative as possible in inventing a new nano-hazard symbol.
Images can be designed on computer or by hand, scanned, photographed or
otherwise rendered in 2 dimensions --either using colour or in black and white.
Entries will be judged on their conceptual as well as artistic merit.
Descriptions and <BR>> explanations accompanying the entries will be
very welcome.<BR>> <BR>> For examples of existing hazard warning symbols
for comparison see h</FONT></FONT><A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard_symbol"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazard_symbol</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=1>> <BR>> Participants can submit as many different entries as they
wish. Each entry should be submitted seperately. Entries can be
submitted in one of 3 ways:<BR>> 1) Upload electronically using the
upload form at http:// <BR>> </FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/nanohazard"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>www.etcgroup.org/nanohazard</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>> 2)
Email as a jpeg or gif file to </FONT><A
href="mailto:nanohazard@etcgroup.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>nanohazard@etcgroup.org</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>> 3)
Send by post to Nano-Hazard Competition, ETC Group, 431
Gilmour Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0R5. Canada<BR>> <BR>>
Please include your name, country and a contact email or postal address.<BR>>
<BR>> All submitted entries will be treated as non-copyright and in
the public domain unless the submitter wishes to place them under
a creative commons license allowing free non-commercial use
(see details here </FONT><A href="http://www.creativecommons.org"><FONT
face=Arial size=1>http://www.creativecommons.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=1>). Entries submitted with <BR>> copyright conditions (other than
creative commons) will not be considered. Entries sent by post will
not be returned.<BR>> <BR>> The closing date for entries is 8th January
2007.<BR>> <BR>> Judging will be in two parts:<BR>> Judging Panel: A
selection of entries will first be made by a panel of eminent judges chosen
by the ETC Group.<BR>> This panel includes:<BR>> Dr. Vyvyan Howard,
Founding editor of the Journal of Nanotoxicology.<BR>> Dr. Gregor Wolbring,
The Canadian Advisory Commitee on Nanotech Standardisation.<BR>> Chee
Yoke Ling, Legal Advisor, Third World Network.<BR>> Claire Pentecost, Artist,
Writer, Associate Professor and Chair of the Photography Department
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Rory O Neill, Editor of
Hazards (trade union workplace safety magazine).<BR>> Dr. Alexis Vlandas,
Nanotechnology spokesperson for International Network of Engineers and
Scientists for Global Responsibility.<BR>> <BR>> Public Judging: The
selected entries will then be displayed at the World Social Forum in
Nairobi, Kenya (20- 25 January 2007) for civil society attendees to judge.
We also encourage everyone to view the gallery of submitted artwork
online and submit comments there.<BR>> <BR>> More Information:<BR>> For
a short introduction to nanotechnology see: "A Tiny Primer
on Nano-scale Technologies" available online: </FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/"><FONT face=Arial size=1><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/en/materials/publications.html?id=55">http://www.etcgroup.org/</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial size=1>en/materials/publications.html?id=55</A><BR>> <BR>> For
an introduction to the toxicity of nanoscale materials see the
following resources:<BR>> "Size Matters" (2003), an ETC Occasional Paper
which includes an appendix by Dr Vyvyan Howard, Founding Editor of the
Journal of Nanotoxicology: </FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/165/01/"><FONT face=Arial
size=1><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/165/01/occ.paper_nanosafety.pdf">http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/165/01/</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial size=1>occ.paper_nanosafety.pdf</A><BR>> <BR>> ETC Group's 2004
Communique, 'Nano's Troubled Waters' http://</FONT><A
href="http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/116/01/gt_troubledwater_april1.pdf"><FONT
face=Arial
size=1>www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/116/01/gt_troubledwater_april1.pdf</FONT></A><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=1>> <BR>> A May 2006 report on nanotechnology in
sunscreens and cosmetics by Friends of the Earth: </FONT><A
href="http://www.foe.org/camps/comm/nanotech/"><FONT face=Arial
size=1>http://www.foe.org/camps/comm/nanotech/</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=1>> <BR>> A recent scientific evaluation of nanoscale hazards by the
European Commission's highest level scientific committee on toxicity,
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health
Risks: <BR>> </FONT><A
href="http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/"><FONT
face=Arial size=1><A
href="http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_cons_01_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial size=1>scenihr_cons_01_en.htm</A><BR>> <BR>> A comprehensive
overview (2004) of nanoparticle toxicity, "Small Matter, Many
Unknowns" by Swiss Re, the world's second largest re-insurance company:
</FONT><A href="http://www.swissre.com/INTERNET/pwsfilpr.nsf/"><FONT face=Arial
size=1><A
href="http://www.swissre.com/INTERNET/pwsfilpr.nsf/vwFilebyIDKEYLu/ULUR-5YNGET/$FILE/Publ04_Nanotech_en.pdf">http://www.swissre.com/INTERNET/pwsfilpr.nsf/</FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial
size=1>vwFilebyIDKEYLu/ULUR-5YNGET/$FILE/Publ04_Nanotech_en.pdf</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>