Expert opinion on nanotechnology : risks, benefits and regulation

This article looks at the results of a survey of nanotechnology researchers in the United States about the areas which are most important in this field, and their perceptions about the overall benefits and risks of nanotechnology. The majority of respondents thought that the areas of public health and the environment as places where current regulations were least adequate, and factor analysis of the survey results found that respondents drew a distinction between environmental and health risks and other ethical issues such as issues of privacy, and nanotechnology in weapons.