Hailed by researchers as the next industrial revolution, nanotechnology opens up a world of possibilities, but some are warning against a potential dark side of this new frontier.

Nanogears no more than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) wide could be used to construct a matter compiler, which could be fed raw material to arrange atoms and build a macro-scale structure. Photo courtesy NASA Ames.

At the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University, the research themes are more pragmatic: the basics of nanomaterials, medical application development, increasing production and determining possible health and environmental impacts. According to Dr. Kevin Ausman, the center’s director, about one quarter of CBEN’s budget is spent on the latter.

He said that nanotechnology could provide the answer to current environmental problems. For example, designing filtration membranes for water purification and waste treatment at the molecular level means even the smallest impurities can be removed. Nanoparticles are also highly absorbent, Ausman said, suggesting that they could one day be used in the detection and clean-up of contaminants.

One organization, the Canada-based Erosion, Technology and Concentration Group is convinced that the implications of this quickly developing field are not as benign as proponents claim. In an eight-page report, “No Small Matter! Nanotech Particles Penetrate Living Cells and Accumulate in Animal Organs,” authors said that, because of their small size, nanoparticles released into the environment would be nearly impossible to detect and remove. ETC researchers also warn that the effects of tiny man-made particles accumulating in the lungs or liver are unknown.

Ausman said that it is premature to worry about the release of nanomaterials into the environment because commercial applications of nanotechnology are still several years in the making. He said the first uses of nano-products will be in medicine. Because any new medical treatments must go through the Food and Drug Administration, Ausman said we will learn a great deal about the health impact of nanoparticles in general and have answers about specific nanoparticles from FDA protocols already in place.

The ETC report also identified the shape of carbon nanotubes, which their researchers said resemble asbestos fibers, as a potential danger.

Ausman said such concerns are based completely on speculation. He said tests are currently underway at NASA to determine whether carbon nanotubes can be inhaled and what effect they will have on the lungs. Two completed studies on mice and guinea pigs suggest it is unlikely the carbon fibers pose a risk to humans.

At the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in August, ETC Group appealed to world leaders to call for a moratorium on all nanotechnology until health and environmental risks are assessed.

Ausman said that halting nanotechnology development would be a mistake as it is necessary to produce more nanonmaterials in order to properly study their effects.

“The study of environmental impact goes hand-in-hand with the development of the technology, each informing the other,” he said.

Later this month, the center will host a nanotechnology conference, during which, one session will address health and environmental issues. But if environmentalists are looking for definitive answers, Ausman warns, they have a long wait ahead of them.

“We’re dealing with a very broad class of materials, just because something is nano-sized doesn’t mean it will have a negative impact,” he said. “Some (kinds of particles) will and some won’t-it’s just too early to tell.”