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Issues

 

Nanoparticles: Environmental, Health, & Safety Problems

(Image 3)

Although nanoparticles can provide us with unlimited range of possible benefits, they come with potential risks and hazards just like any other technology. 
 
Tiny nanoparticles can spread "throughout a crop plant and affect growth and soil fertility". This may prove very harmful to the crop yield and farmers. Use of nanoparticles in agriculture is unclear but they have been shown to affect the growth of soybean crop, a crop of great importance due to the nutrients it provides. 
 
Nanoparticles may also harm useful bacteria that play an important role in plant growth. Additionally, there are fears that the spread of nanoparticles in the environment will have "unforeseen" effects on plants, animals, as well as humans! (1)
Nanoparticles may "speed up reactions in living things in unpredictable ways, perhaps causing illness or death. Breathing in any fine or tiny solid particles can cause irritation in the lungs and potentially cause lung damage and cancer". Additionally, scientists worry that the immune system might be "defenseless" against nanoparticles. (1)

Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues

Ethical Issues related to nanotechnology include the the development of the following:-
  • "Weapons
    • Miniature weapons and explosives
    • Disassemblers for Military use
  • Rampant Nanomachines
    • Self replicating nanomachines
  • Surveillance
    • Monitoring and Tracking"
All of these are very dangerous potential uses of nanotechnology that are most definitely possible. 
Nanodevices may be used to interfere in "our freedom and privacy" because people can use microphones and cameras at the nanoscale level to "track others". (2)
Legal Issues in this field raise the following questions: is it legal to patent "an atomic or molecular structure"? This leads to a lot of debate since many materials may have a patent prior to the design of a new nanomachine. 
The limit to government interference in the growth of nano is another big issue. Too much interference can lead to "undesirable and unavoidable" outcomes while too little regulation will make "investors relucatant to support development". Additionally, nanodevices require a lot of agencies to test them, such as the Department of Health and Human Services. (3, 4)
Social Issues that evolve when dealing with the impacts of nanotechnology on the society include:-
  • "Redistribution of wealth
  • Potential cost of cleanups and healthcare
  • Accessibility to all income levels
  • Environemental, health and safety concerns
  • Intellectual property issues
  • Rapid transformation and dislocation of industries
  • Involvement of public in decision making" (5)

Possible Actions  & Consequences

  • Legal banning of nanotechnology R&D-will prevent the harms nanotech causes but completely stop the growth of this field and its benefits
  • An "advisory commission" can be created-this will help enforce the consideration of the harmful side of nanotechnology
  • "Adoption of design guidelines" can "minimize accidents"
    • limiting the use of nanomachines to specilization
    • "tagging" nanomachines in order to track them (2)

Stakeholders: Who is Affected?

  • NSF (the government): funds nanotechnology research
  • DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency): enforces "ethical guidelines" that may interfere with military research
  • Researchers: "their freedom of how to conduct their research and what to conduct their research on"
  • "Explicit Users: may slow down development of the technology
  • Potentially Everyone: nanotechnology may eventually be so far reaching, it could affect everyone" (2)

(Citations: 2, 3, 4, 5, Image 8,)

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