Nanotechnology and the Environment: a European Perspective

Nanotechnology is expected to be a major economic driver for this century, impacting virtually all industries including healthcare, agrifood, transport, energy, materials, electronics and information technology. It holds promise for improving the environment, both by reducing waste and our dependence on non-renewable natural resources, and for cleaning up existing pollution. This paper discusses some of the potential positive and negative impacts of nanotechnology on the environment and what action is needed to ensure its safe and responsible future development. The ability to detect the presence of pathogens or toxic agents in the environment is the first step towards taking remedial action. Present monitoring devices are often expensive, bulky or relatively insensitive. Advances in nanotechnology may be able to address these shortcomings, allowing simultaneous monitoring of multiple environmental parameters and real time response.

RICKERBY David;  MORRISON N.; 

2007-03-06

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC33189

1468-6996,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC33189,   

10.1016/j.stam.2006.10.002,