The small things in life. Radio National's "Future Tense" program 5 March 2009.
The program begins by interviewing participants in a new research collaboration between Australian and Chinese researchers, seeking to develop energy saving nanomaterials and pharmaceutical applications. It then canvasses some of the broader safety and social concerns about nanotechnology development, before asking what value the Australian Office of Nanotechnology's 'social inclusion' activities have delivered to date, and how serious the regulatory gaps are that relate to nano.
Those interviewed on this program include:
* Andrew Simms - author of "Tescopoly: How one shop came out on top and why it matters", gives a profile of the British retail giant, Tesco, which takes around one in eight of every retail pounds spent and has stores in all but four postcodes.
* Georgia Miller - coordinator of the Friends of the Earth Nanotechnology Project, talks about 104 big name products utilizing nanotechnology that don't need to be labelled and have unknown effects on human health.
* Kamal Fadel from Polisario - the independence advocates for the Saharawi (Western Saharan) people, who discusses how many of us may be eating the fruits of Morocco's illegal invasion.
Georgia and Nnimmo map out the broader implications of nanotechnology for the developed and developing worlds. The interview looks at the "what", "where" and "why" of near term nanotechnology applications, including in textiles, agriculture and the military. Other people interviewed in the program on non-nanotechnology issues include Congolese political scientist and author Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja and Michael O'Flaherty, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
This podcast examines the public interest issues associated with the nanotechnology "revolution", specifically the effects on health, safety and the environment, and the implications for democracy. It features interviews with a number of key stakeholders including:
* Georgia Miller, Friends of the Earth spokesperson on nanotechnology, on the broader public interest issues raised by nanotechnology and the need for a moratorium on the commercial use of nanotechnology;
* Steve Mullins, Health and Safety Officer for the ACTU and participant in the Standards Australia taskforce on nanotechnology, speaking about the importance of worker health considerations;
* Angus Robinson, National Business Development Manager, CGU (IAG) on the risk management issues associated with nanotechnology;
* Dr Rob Sparrow, lecturer and ethicist with the Centre for Human Bioethics at Monash University addressing issues of access and public involvement in decision-making;
* Assoc Prof Paul Wright, toxicologist at RMIT University and coordinator of NanoSafe Australia, providing details on issues associated with the understanding of nano-toxicity.
A wide ranging interview that introduces nanotechnology, evaluates the hype surrounding it and discusses some key concerns associated with the emergence of convergent technologies at the nanoscale.
