Public policy and the environmental implications of nanotechnology

IEC 4

Vicki L. Colvin and Kristen M. Kulinowski. Department of Chemistry, Rice University, 6100 Main St.--MS 60, Houston, TX 77005
Nanotechonology offers enormous benefits to society. Materials with nanometer scale features have found applications in technologies as diverse as water treatment and medical diagnostics. As a nanotechnology industry emerges to capitalize on these new inventions over the next decade, it will become increasingly important to consider unintended consequences of nanomaterials. In particular, the environmental implications of nanomaterials are receiving growing attention from toxicologists and citizen groups around the world. This talk will provide an overview of these developments and the role that nanotechnologists and government agencies alike play in developing public policy in this area.