XClose

UCL News

Home
Menu

Press cutting: Consumers accept nanotechnology

8 December 2006

Public antipathy to nanotechnology products has been greatly overestimated, according to the largest survey on the subject.

There have been fears that widespread growth of nanotechnology - deploying very small particles - could for instance lead to lung congestion by inhaling the tiny particles.

The survey by researchers at Rice University, Houston, Texas, UCL and the London Business School … showed that public fixation with the risks of nanotechnology had been largely overplayed. "The average consumer is pretty shrewd when it comes to balancing risks against benefits, and we found that the greater the potential benefits, the more risks people are willing to tolerate," said Professor Steven Currall (UCL Management Studies), the principal investigator.

Alan Cane, 'Financial Times'