Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The environmental impact of nanotechnology is the possible effects that the use of nanotechnological materials and devices will have on the environment. [20] As nanotechnology is an emerging field, there is debate regarding to what extent industrial and commercial use of nanomaterials will affect organisms and ecosystems.
Nanoparticles in concrete construction and recycling introduce a new hazard during the demolition process, which can pose even higher environmental exposure risks. Concrete modified with nanoparticles is almost impossible to separate from conventional concrete, so the release may be uncontrollable if demolished using conventional means.
The health and safety hazards of nanomaterials include the potential toxicity of various types of nanomaterials, as well as fire and dust explosion hazards. Because nanotechnology is a recent development, the health and safety effects of exposures to nanomaterials, and what levels of exposure may be acceptable, are subjects of ongoing research.
Ethics of nanotechnology is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in nanotechnology and its impacts.. According to Andrew Chen, ethical concerns about nanotechnologies should include the possibility of their military applications, the dangers posed by self-replicant nanomachines, and their use for surveillance monitoring and tracking. [1]
The term is sometimes expanded to also include nanotechnology's health and environmental impact, but this article will only consider the social and political impact of nanotechnology. As nanotechnology is an emerging field and most of its applications are still speculative, there is much debate about what positive and negative effects that ...
The Woodrow Wilson Centre's Project on Emerging Technologies conclude that there is insufficient funding for human health and safety research, and as a result there is currently limited understanding of the human health and safety risks associated with nanotechnology. While the US National Nanotechnology Initiative reports that around four ...
However, nanotechnology raises issues, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of nanomaterials, [9] and their potential effects on global economics, as well as various doomsday scenarios. These concerns have led to a debate among advocacy groups and governments on whether special regulation of nanotechnology is warranted.
Regulation of nanotechnology will require a definition of the size, in which particles and processes are recognized as operating at the nano-scale. The size-defining characteristic of nanotechnology is the subject of significant debate, and varies to include particles and materials in the scale of at least 100 to 300 nanometers (nm).