NANOMATERIALS: SAFE OR UNSAFE?

VICKI L. COLVIN CALLS IT "THE wow-to-yuck trajectory": Anew technology is heralded for its amazing benefits, but over time, its dark side emerges in the form of unintended negative effects on the environment or human health. Colvin, an associate professor of chemistry at Rice University in Houston, cites a classic example: Halocarbon refrigerants were key to the spread of air-conditioning throughout the U.S., making sweltering parts of the country more comfortable. Wow. But their unanticipated consequence was the ozone hole. Yuck. Now, with nanotechnology grabbing the public's attention and gearing up to be a major force in industry, Colvin hopes that it can avoid getting mired in the yuck. "The wow-to-yuck trajectory seems like it's embedded in the American fabric," she told attendees of the Nanotechnology & the Environment symposium at the recent American Chemical Society national meeting in New Orleans. "But I don't believe it is." The potentially "scary" technology of the Human Genome ...