US nanotech plan falls short, new report says
CHICAGO - The current US plan for the emerging field of nanotechnology lacks vision, fails to assess risk, and leaves the industry vulnerable to public mistrust, a report by the National Research Council found.
The report, released yesterday, found serious gaps in the government's current plan for determining if there are risks posed by nanomaterials. It called for an effective national plan for identifying and managing potential risks.
"The current plan catalogs nano-risk research across several federal agencies, but it does not present an overarching research strategy needed to gain public acceptance and realize the promise of nanotechnology," committee chairman David Eaton, a public health expert at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a statement.
Nanotechnology, the design and manipulation of materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, has been hailed as a way to make strong, lightweight materials, better cosmetics, and even tastier food.
But scientists are only starting to look at the impact such tiny objects might have.
Currently, more than 600 products involving nanomaterials are already on the market. Most are health and beauty products, but many researchers are working on ways to use the materials for medical therapies, food additives, and electronics. 