The Government must commit adequate funding to improve the understanding of any potential risks to human health and the environment from nanotechnologies said the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering in reaction to the publication (Friday 25 February 2005) of a Government report into the science of the very small.
While the report, a response to the two academies study into nanotechnologies, commits the Government to taking forward the regulation of these novel technologies, it does not dedicate any new money for the research which will be essential to support the development of robust regulations.
Professor Ann Dowling, chair of the working group that produced the academies report said: The Government is taking the regulatory implications of nanotechnologies seriously and has committed to acting on our concerns that, for example, until we know more about the effects of manufactured nanoparticles, their release into the environment should be minimised and people working with these materials, such as in university laboratories, should be properly protected.
However we are disappointed that there is no new money for the research that will be needed to underpin appropriate regulations. Many nanotechnologies are still in their initial stages of development and there are still gaps in our knowledge about what opportunities, and potential risks, they hold. Properly funded research is essential if we are going to ensure that these exciting technologies develop in a responsible way....
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Posted 28th February 2005
