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Additional challenges have been raised regarding the linkages between nanotechnology and development. Protection of the environment, human health and worker safety in developing countries often suffers from a combination of factors that can include but are not limited to lack of robust environmental, human health, and worker safety regulations ...
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.
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).
Worldwide investment in nanotechnology increased from $432 million in 1997 to about $4.1 billion in 2005. [3]: 1–3 Because nanotechnology is a recent development, the health and safety effects of exposures to nanomaterials, and what levels of exposure may be acceptable, is not yet fully understood.
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 United States National Nanotechnology Initiative involves 20 departments and independent agencies that focus on nanotechnology innovation and regulation in the United States. Projects and activities of NNI span from R&D to policy on environment and safety regulations of NMs. [33]
One innovation of green nanotechnology that is currently under development are nanomachines modeled after a bacterium bioengineered to consume plastics, Ideonella sakaiensis. These nano-machines are able to decompose plastics dozens of times faster than the bioengineered bacteria not only because of their increased surface area but also because ...
Antimicrobial nanotechnology is an environmentally friendly solution because it is based from water and contains no heavy metals, arsenic, tin, or polychlorinated phenols. According to tests, a garment treated with antimicrobial nanotechnology will degrade in a landfill in 5 years to carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and silicon dioxide.