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Risk, Uncertainty, and Learning in Nanomaterials Regulation: An Analytical Framework

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Aline Reichow
Aline Reichow*
Affiliation:
Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Dortmund, Germany
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Abstract

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The regulation of nanomaterials is still surrounded by scientific uncertainty regarding their potential human health risks. It is therefore useful to consider learning approaches in the process of regulation. Effective regulation is conceptualised with regard to collaborative activities of state and non-state actors that enable mutual learning regarding the health risks of nanomaterials. A theoretical framework is offered for studying learning processes in the area of occupational safety and health. Drawing on the network governance literature, three learning types (namely substantive, strategic, and institutional learning) are distinguished. Analytical conditions are proposed and applied to the case of nanomaterials in Germany, thereby offering insights into learning processes in industry-initiated collaborative activities. It is concluded that the development of trust among network collaborators is decisive for learning processes. Accordingly, a proposal for research into specific stages of trust development is made.

Type
Special Issue on Regulating New and Emerging Technologies
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 502 - 516
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
© Aline Reichow 2016 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016

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