Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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Are nanoparticles safe to breathe? Do carbon nanotubes behave like asbestos? What does the public think about nanotechnology’s risk-benefit trade-offs?
A chap called Andrew Maynard has just started a nanotechnology blog aimed at answering some of these questions and more regarding nanotechnology.
At first I thought, so what? Who really cares about nanotechnology and then I read the little ditty that these PR people put at the bottom of the press releases:
“Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture things usually between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. A human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide. According to Lux Research, emerging nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $50 billion in manufactured goods in 2006. By 2014, a projected $2.6 trillion in global manufactured goods will incorporate nanotech, or about 15 percent of total output.”
That 2.6 trillion US dollars is what impressed me but equally worrisome are the potential health hazards which according to Maynard need careful consideration.
Dr. Maynard addresses some of these concerns in his blog hosted by SAFENANO (See: http://www.community.safenano.org/blogs).
In his latest blog post, “Invest in nano applications, and the risks will take care of themselves?,” Maynard examines recent Congressional testimony by venture capitalist and co-chair of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Floyd Kvamme.
Maynard’s blog post spotlights “red flags,” which Kvamme’s testimony ignores, about the possible risks of some nanoparticles, and questions whether enough is being done to ensure the safety of rapidly emerging nanotechnology-based products.
A chap called Andrew Maynard has just started a nanotechnology blog aimed at answering some of these questions and more regarding nanotechnology.
At first I thought, so what? Who really cares about nanotechnology and then I read the little ditty that these PR people put at the bottom of the press releases:
“Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture things usually between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. A human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide. According to Lux Research, emerging nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $50 billion in manufactured goods in 2006. By 2014, a projected $2.6 trillion in global manufactured goods will incorporate nanotech, or about 15 percent of total output.”
That 2.6 trillion US dollars is what impressed me but equally worrisome are the potential health hazards which according to Maynard need careful consideration.
Dr. Maynard addresses some of these concerns in his blog hosted by SAFENANO (See: http://www.community.safenano.org/blogs).
In his latest blog post, “Invest in nano applications, and the risks will take care of themselves?,” Maynard examines recent Congressional testimony by venture capitalist and co-chair of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Floyd Kvamme.
Maynard’s blog post spotlights “red flags,” which Kvamme’s testimony ignores, about the possible risks of some nanoparticles, and questions whether enough is being done to ensure the safety of rapidly emerging nanotechnology-based products.