Nora Savage

Competition for Water

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the issues and considers ways that advances in nanotechnology might help. Water is used in virtually every aspect of human activity, from food production and personal hygiene to economic development and, as such, has deep-seated connections to social, cultural, and religious customs. It may seem there is an abundance of water, especially to anybody living in a developed nation where water flows freely and cleanly from the kitchen tap, but scarcity is already a challenge in many areas of the world. Further, it is predicted to become increasingly worse as the world population grows and climate change affects natural precipitation and evaporation patterns. Indeed, over the next 20 years, the available freshwater resources are likely to dwindle by 30 percent.

Moving toward exposure and risk evaluation of nanomaterials: challenges and future directions

Nanotechnology, the commercial development of engineered nanomaterials, promises breakthrough innovations by enhancing the performance of existing consumer products and enabling development of new devices, architectures, and applications. Although these materials and applications are being developed at an explosive pace, a fundamental understanding of any potential human health and environmental risks resulting from exposure throughout the lifecycle of these materials has not advanced as rapidly. Past experience has demonstrated that successful introduction of a new technology occurs more readily if it is precipitated by a robust appreciation for any inherent risks associated with the technology. Such understanding allows the timely development of occupational and consumer exposure standards that might be needed to protect human health and the environment. Although risk is recognized as the product of hazard and exposure, too often exposure patterns are poorly characterized, and risk is based primarily or exclusively on the hazard characterization. The extent of exposure to nanomaterials in currently available commercial products is relatively unknown. Given the number of commercial products that claim to contain engineered nanomaterials, it is possible that human and environmental exposure to these materials is widespread. This paper is intended to highlight the importance of exposure assessment for determining the potential risks of nanomaterials. In essence, this is a call to action to the community of exposure scientists, toxicologists, and risk assessors to develop, consider, and incorporate requisite exposure information in the risk assessment of nanomaterials. Without an integrated approach, it will be difficult to meaningfully assess the risks of nanomaterials, realize their potential benefits, and foster their sustainable development.

Nanotechnology applications and implications research supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency STAR grants program

Since 2002, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been funding research on the environmental aspects of nanotechnology through its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program. In total, more than

Nanotechnology Environmental, Health, and Safety Issues

25 million has been awarded for 86 research projects on the environmental applications and implications of nanotechnology. In the applications area, grantees have produced promising results in green manufacturing, remediation, sensors, and treatment using nanotechnology and nanomaterials. Although there are many potential benefits of nanotechnology, there has also been increasing concern about the environmental and health effects of nanomaterials, and there are significant gaps in the data needed to address these concerns. Research performed by STAR grantees is beginning to address these needs.

Nanotechnology Solutions for Improving Water Quality

The environmental, health, and safety (EHS) of nanomaterials has been defined as “the collection of fields associated with the terms ‘environmental health, human health, animal health, and safety’ when used in the context of risk assessment and risk management” ([1], p. 2). In this chapter, the term “nano-EHS” is used for convenience to refer specifically to environmental, health, and safety research and related activities as they apply to nanoscale science, technology, and engineering. This chapter outlines the major advances in nano EHS over the last 10 years and the major challenges, developments, and achievements that we can expect over the next 10 years without providing comprehensive coverage or a review of all the important issues in this field.

Convergence Platforms: Earth-Scale Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter reveals that nanotechnology has great potential for providing efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally acceptable solutions for improving water quality and for increasing quantities of potable water. Nanomaterials have a number of key physicochemical properties that make them particularly attractive as separation media for water purification. On a mass basis, they have much larger surface areas than bulk particles. Thus, they are ideal building blocks for developing high-capacity sorbents with the ability to be functionalized to enhance their affinity and selectivity. Nanomaterials can serve as high-capacity and recyclable ligands for cations, anions, radionuclides, and organic compounds. They provide unprecedented opportunities for developing more efficient water-purification catalysts and redox active media due to their large surface areas and their size- and shape-dependent optical and electronic properties.

Chapter 35 – Competition for Water

Earth-scale convergence systems comprise dynamic, complex, and interrelated environmental Earth-scale systems, energy production and consumption systems, and man-made technological systems such as telecommunications and various metropolitan and agricultural infrastructure systems. This chapter views Earth-scale systems from five viewpoints: knowledge systems, monitoring systems, communication systems, management systems and tools, and Earth-scale and other contributing technologies, including robotics. Ideally, convergence-based technological solutions to Earth-scale systems problems can be found that do not have serious political, social, or economic repercussions, but it is far more likely that difficult tradeoffs will have to be made in decision-making at local, national, and international levels. Sustainability is an increasingly important concept being incorporated into society’s thinking about technological solutions to Earth-scale problems. Improving data and modeling capabilities, monitoring (including spaced-based) and communication systems, and collaboration and management tools will be critical.

Nanotechnology in Water: Societal, Ethical, and Environmental Considerations

It is clear that in the near future the world will be facing a water crisis, and indeed, many parts of the world already are. The focus of this book has been on ways that nanotechnology may provide solutions to many of the technical problems that are or will result in scarcity and poor water quality. However, there are many potential sources of competition for water, both technical and nontechnical. Some of these, such as corruption and mismanagement, have been creating issues with water for a very long time, whereas others, such as the burgeoning biofuels industry, are only just emerging. It is important that we consider all of the many competitors for clean water and possibility for nanotechnology to address these directly and indirectly.

Chapter 33 – Introduction to Societal Issues: The Responsible Development of Nanotechnology for Water

Potable water is a threatened but critical resource, the scarcity of which is devastating for the developing world. Water-related nanotechnology research has the potential to make safe drinking water inexpensive and accessible to developing countries. This technology also can improve the water infrastructure in developed nations. However, it is imperative that the technology is, first, sustainable and, second, is acceptable by the societies it will serve. This chapter discusses both these issues and addresses what should be considered by researchers and policymakers in the advent of this rapidly developing technology to ensure its responsible development and deployment. Responsible development–including the best use of resources, consideration of societal concerns, and investigation of potential environmental effects—starts in the early stages of research. As the research moves into the development stage, issues of access and parity—including patent and copyright issues and access to the technology—become controversial. Finally, public engagement is necessary to ensure overall acceptance of exotic techniques and novel treatment technologies. Public engagement demands an approach appropriate to both the society as well as the technology, and as such, a relevant case-specific strategy must be developed to coincide with the introduction of new water treatment technologies.

Chapter 34 – Nanotechnology in Water: Societal, Ethical, and Environmental Considerations

This chapter starts with a quick overview of the subject of nanotechnology and its technical applications in water-related problems such as drinking water, already introduced in previous sections of the book. It then looks at the questions that need to be considered with regard to public acceptance of nanotechnology. Then there is a quick look at the development of nanotechnologies and the way in which experimental technology has been developed previously. Finally, the chapter very briefly introduces some of the relevant forthcoming chapters in the book.