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The New Deficit Model

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Calls for more data on the impact of nanomaterials on human health and the environment reflect a failure to accept that there will always be unknowns associated with any new technology. Effective governance of emerging nanotechnologies will require an acknowledgement of these unknowns, an open and adaptive approach to regulation, and the courage to make decisions.

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Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges stimulating conversations with J. Pennington (Bioethics Council of New Zealand), S. Davenport (Victoria Univ. Wellington), J. Cupples (Univ. Canterbury), G. Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald Applied Sociology) and J. Gough (Environmental Risk Management Authority).

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  1. Simon Brown is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. simon.brown@canterbury.ac.nz,

    Simon Brown

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Brown, S. The New Deficit Model. Nature Nanotech 4, 609–611 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.278

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