Sweat the small stuff

摘要

NANOTECHNOLOGY is a controversial term. The public at large associate it, along with genetically modified food, with letting mad scientists loose in a corporate lab. The media (and many scientists) have a hard time even explaining the word, as it can refer either to intentionally created, accidental or completely natural objects. To health and safety experts, nanotechnology is a concern because most of us have an inadequate understanding of what it all means, and of how it may cause harm. We do know that there are proven and significant health risks from exposure to some of this stuff, but precisely how bad it is, and what we should do about it, are as hard to see as nanomaterials themselves. Across the world, many governments, standards bodies, and even the HSE here, advise a "precautionary response" in light of the evidence gathered so far (a comprehensive report by Canadian research institute IRSST has just been published, available at ), but the question remains: how do we protect against something we don't understand?