Warming you up to scienceBoiling Point - Nanotechnology
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| Dr. R.G. Goebel, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D | Dr. Michael D. Mehta, B.A., M.E.S., Ph.D. |
| Listen to Dr. Goebel describe the challenges of nanotechnology. |
Listen to Dr. Mehta describe the challenges of nanotechnology. |
| Dr. Goebel argues that the promise and progress of nanotechnology requires careful management of the public's understanding. Specifically, nanotechnology will be crippled by restrictive regulations if current unfounded fears about the impact of the technology are not mediated. He asserts that scientists and media can work together to build the trust and support of the public through clear, articulate science messages and education. | Nanotechnology products pose potential health and environmental risks. Despite the lack of regulations and labeling standards, they are already available in Canada. In order to get this technology right the first time, as well as learn from the mistakes we’ve made with other technologies in the past, we must lay a solid groundwork for nanotechnology that includes public education. |
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Webpage www.cs.ualberta.ca/~goebel/ Dr. Randy Goebel is Professor and chair in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta. His research is focused on the theory and application of intelligent systems. Dr. Goebel has been the president and CEO of Alberta's Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (iCORE) since 2005. Established in 1999 by the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Science and Research Authority, iCORE develops and supports world-leading university-based research in information and communications technology. iCORE’s goal is to position Alberta as a research leader in areas of computer science and engineering by fostering top research teams. A principal investigator with the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Machine Learning, Dr. Goebel’s current research areas include web mining, machine learning, and visualization. Dr. Goebel is involved in collaborative research projects in Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany and Malaysia. He co-authored the popular text, Computational Intelligence: A Logical Approach, published by Oxford University Press. |
Web page:http://policynut.usask.ca/ Dr. Michael D. Mehta specializes in Science, Technology and Society with a focus on health and environmental risk issues. Recently at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Mehta is now Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta. He is also an Affiliate Scientist with the Institute of Population Health at the University of Ottawa, a member of the Institute for Risk Research at the University of Waterloo, an associate of the Alberta Cancer Diagnostic Consortium, and on the scientific advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation. Dr. Mehta is one of a few academics in Canada to explore the social and ethical dimensions of nanotechnology. He has published several papers in this area, and was guest co-editor of a 2004 special issue on nanotechnology in the Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society. In February 2004, he provided written evidence to the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering on how to include a range of social dimensions in the British government’s handling of nanotechnology. |
| Publications | Publications |
| Nanotechnology may seem like a brand new technology that is just being developed, but it is already in large scale use in hundreds of consumer products – those products that you and I use every day. But there is much farther that we can go. Researchers are using nanotechnology to try to make computers go faster and store more data more compactly, to make really really wee machines for controlled assembly, create diagnostic devices that can travel in your body to find disease and analyse samples. These extensive benefits should not be withheld from society simply because of unfounded fear and political reactionism. Further, nanotechnology encompasses a diverse set of materials and technologies, only some of which will directly come into contact with people. A regulation preventing the advancement of any nanotechnology would be highly disruptive to all technologies, ultimately causing significant harm to society. | Almost by definition, at the nanometer scale, the physical properties of materials change. The primary concerns about nanotechnology centre on the unknown health and safety effects of such materials and devices – where a material may be inert to human health at a macroscopic scale, it may be highly reactive and harmful at nanoscopic scales. The lack of any significant regulation, coupled with the highly capitalistic and competitive corporate environment for their development may result in the development and marketing of new products that have significant and unappreciated risks for human safety. This is of particular concern with the manufacturing of products. As very few companies have the ability to create and develop nanotechnology products, the wealth will be concentrated with those companies and the risk that may exist in production will be maintained off shore, in under-developed countries. Also, with no regulation surrounding the labelling of products, consumers may be exposed to poorly tested nanotechnology products without even knowing about it. |
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What does the HotStove think? It is completely unquestionable that nanotechnology can be beneficial and it is here to stay. Is it safe? Yes, and no. As with many technologies, when used responsibly, it is safe. What is lacking, though, is the conviction of the public that the products containing the technology are safe. Generally, current regulation with changes that reflect nanotechnology (such as testing the safety of materials at nanometer scale before marketing, and differentiation of nanometer products from macroscopic products) is sufficient for the protection of the public. But, regulation should not interfere with ongoing research. For a more in-depth summary and links to the scholarly articles used, click here. |
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Forum Posted by: Susan Regulation of nanotechnology will only be as good as the government that is creating it. The most pressing issue surrounding nanotech is the lack of public awareness about it. Posted by: Dan It amazes me that the Canadian government has not taken steps to regulate nanotechnology. The environmental and health risks associated with nanotechnology are too great to ignore.
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Polls Should the government of Canada regulate nanotechnology? Do you feel that you have a good understanding of nanotechnology and its environmental and health implications? Do you currently use products that contain nanotechnology? Should products containing nanotechnology be labeled?
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