ABSTRACT
Nanoparticles are tiny particles invisible to the unaided eye that have a long history in ceramics and glass. In the twenty-first century, they are seen by many technology-oriented businesses and governments as the basis for new economy and for more effective military technology. Chapter 7 shows that nanoparticles have a large surface area relative to their size, which means that new products can be manufactured and existing products enhanced. Nanomedicine is an expanding field with the potential to help many people. However, the same properties that make manufactured nano materials desirable also mean that dangerous by-products could expose many people. Governments have invested heavily in nano science and engineering, and their investments in assessing the risk and managing exposure is much apparent, an observation which is true of all world’s most powerful nations. At this time, federal, state and local policies are limited and conventional epidemiological and toxicological tests may be unable to measure consequences that might not appear for decades. Most of the public appears to support nano development. World governments have laissez faire policies towards nano and appear to be circling around the issue waiting for something to happen that might necessitate an emergency intervention.
