More scientists than Average Joes worry about nanotechnology’s health and environmental impact, according to a new report. While the public is concerned about privacy concerns, experts in the field are more anxious about pollution and human health risks.
Digital Journal — The rise of nanotechnology — a scientific field where researchers can manipulate matter at the smallest scale — has fuelled interest in how new products can be manufactured with more advanced technology. But it has also sparked some concerns over its side effects: the unknown health and environmental impact of this new science is worrying more scientists than everyday people, says a new report published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
The survey found that 20 per cent of the questioned scientists indicated a concern that new forms of nanotechnology may cause pollution, while only 15 per cent of the public thought that might be an issue. Also, more than 30 per cent of scientists were concerned that human health could be at risk, while just 20 per cent of the public had such fears.
The public were more anxious about nanotechnology’s privacy issues, which have garnered a great deal of press.
The study’s lead author Dietram Scheufele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of life sciences communication and journalism, said in a press release:
Scientists aren’t saying there are problems. They’re saying, ‘we don’t know. The research hasn’t been done.’ Nanotechnology is starting to emerge on the policy agenda, but with the public, it’s not on their radar, that’s where we have the largest communication gap.
The good news for scientist, the report found, is that the public wants to know more about nanotechnology’s benefits and disadvantages.
Scheufele argued:
I think the public wants to know more. The applications are out there and that concern gap has to be addressed. The climate for having that discourse is perfect. There is definitely a huge opportunity for scientists to communicate with a public who trusts them.
The fears over nanotechnology’s development are nothing new. But what this report discovered bears repeating: scientists are more concerned about nanotechnology’s effects than the public, which should be an issue for the obvious reason.
The public isn’t well-informed about this new science, and both scientists and the media should shoulder that responsibility. For any intelligent discussion to take place over nanotechnology, the scientists shouldn’t be the only ones aware of what innovations are occurring in this “science of the small.”
Concerned citizens should take step up and find out how this sci-fi technology could change their lives.
