Wilson Center

Americans welcome new potential life-saving and -enhancing applications promised by nanotechnology. But at the same time, they voice concern over a lack of research into nanotechnology's potential long-term human health and environmental effects and want to ensure that the government and private sectors are equipped and willing to effectively manage any would-be risks.

These are some of the findings in a new study released today by The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies: PDF: Informed Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology and Trust in Government. The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was created in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts in April 2005.

[...] results show that the public is clearly interested in and excited about the potential of nanotechnology, which exploits the unique behavior of materials and devices when engineered at a scale of roughly between 1 and 100 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or about 1/100,000 the thickness of a human hair).

But people are concerned about the lack of consumer awareness of nanotechnology and of the estimated 500-700 nanotechnology products already on the market. The public also is troubled by potential unknown human health and environmental consequences, and by possible unintended uses.

[...] “If this industry is to grow to its promise of one trillion dollars by 2015, the federal government and industry need to put as much energy into building public trust as they do into developing new nano applications,” said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. “In the end, the kinds of safety measures and disclosure the public wants make sense in terms of both long-term corporate strategy and good public policy.”