The Nanotechnology Revolution
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 Researchers, industry leaders and governments may not always see eye to eye, but one thing they do agree on is that the nanotechnology revolution is on its way. Many predict that the relatively new discipline of nanotechnology will transform a host of industries over the next 10 to 20 years, from the medical field to computer manufacturing. Others simply describe it as having the potential to fuel the next industrial revolution.
Governments and investors have taken notice of the incredible potential offered by advances in nanotechnology. In the United States, for example, nearly $1.5 billion has been earmarked for spending this year by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a multi-agency U.S. government program developed to help accelerate the discovery and development of nanotechnologies. That is more than triple the amount spent by the program in 2001 when NNI first became recognized as a federal initiative.
Investors have also gotten in on the act. Lux Research, a research and advisory firm focused on emerging technologies, estimates venture capital funding for nanotechnology worldwide to have been nearly $500 million in 2005 alone. The firm also projects that nanotechnology will be incorporated in approximately $2.6 trillion of manufactured goods by 2014.
Despite this rosy outlook, the public’s perception of nanotechnology is far from perfect. As advances in nanotechnology continue and nanomaterials are included in a greater number of products, more questions have arisen about the effects of nano-based products on humans and the environment. In fact, organizations as diverse as environmental groups and industrial companies are calling for greater research into nanotechnology hazards and safety issues.
According to Dr. Peter Hatto, chair of the BSI Committee for Nanotechnologies (NTI/1) and director of research for IonBond Limited, one way to help calm public fears about nanotechnology is by establishing clear guidelines regarding the labeling of manufactured nanoparticles and products containing nanoparticles.
He points to a guide on labeling his committee is developing, and says that it gives “manufacturers the opportunity to inform the public in a well structured way whether their products contain nanoparticles or not.”
Still, he says, “it’s up to the manufacturer. Manufacturers have an obligation only to sell safe products and put appropriate warning signs on them and so forth. But they’re not under any obligation to say this product contains nanoparticles. There’s a lot of concern currently being expressed about products that contain nanoparticles, and we have to give people the opportunity to make a buying decision based on knowledge of what products contain.”
While the guidelines that BSI is developing are only voluntary, Hatto believes that a lack of standardized use of the prefix nano can in fact create more problems when it comes to the public’s perception of nanotechnology. He describes a case in Germany last year in which Magic Nano, a glass and bathroom sealant, was recalled after causing serious breathing problems for some of its users.
“The question was whether [the problems were] associated with nanoparticles in the product because it was called Magic Nano. Well, eventually they were traced to the propellant that was used. In fact, the product didn’t contain any nanoparticles. But maybe there was some nanotechnology element to it, perhaps the material it contained was forming a nanolayer on the surface which would repel dirt. So there might have been a nanotechnology developed film, but it certainly didn’t contain nanoparticles, which was believed to be the case originally,” says Hatto.
When it comes to nanotechnology, safety continues to be a concern, particularly with regard to the handling of nanomaterials in the workplace. That’s why BSI is also developing a guide focused on the safe handling and disposal of engineered nanoparticles. The organization hopes to release the safety and labeling guides by the end of the year along with a guide to specifying nanomaterials and six terminologies for different sectors. All of these will be made available as free downloads on BSI’s website.
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