News : Nanotechnology plans seen falling short

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The current U.S. 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 on Wednesday, 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.

Some studies suggest that nano-sized objects may have different effects in the body than larger ones.

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.

In its report, the committee said the current U.S. strategy, developed by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, does not provide for adequate research to ensure the safety of workers, consumers and the environment from unexpected and possibly toxic properties of these materials.

LACKING VISION

The committee said the plan lacks "essential elements" including a vision, clear objectives, a comprehensive assessment of the state of the science, and a "road map that describes how research progress will be measured and the estimated resources required to conduct such research."

David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, an advocacy group, said the report echoes calls by industry and congressional leaders for a revamped research plan for nanotechnology.

"The administration's delay has hurt investor and consumer confidence," Rejeski said in a statement.

"It has gambled with public health and safety. It has jeopardized the $14 billion investment governments and private industry have made in this technology and its great promise for significant advances in healthcare, energy and manufacturing."

University of Wisconsin researchers reported in Monday's issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology that nearly 25 percent of Americans surveyed found nanotechnology to be morally unacceptable, compared to 7 percent of Italians, 18 percent of Belgians and 66 percent of Irish.

They said the more religious a society was, the more likely citizens were to reject nanotechnology as immoral.

The group said the report should help guide the administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

The National Research Council is one of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent organization that guides the federal government on medical, scientific and engineering policy.

(Editing by Maggie Fox)