Consumer Confidence a 'Paramount Concern' in Growth of Nanotechnology, According to Former Texas Official

Texas is taking steps to make sure it stays in the forefront of development for the budding nanotechnology business, but the industry needs to address consumer concerns if it's going to succeed in the marketplace, said former Texas Sec. of State Geoff Connor.

"That confidence will be based on the knowledge that these new products have been made safe," said Connor, who's now a lawyer in private practice in Austin. "Consumer confidence will be a paramount concern," he said.

During the current rapid growth phase, companies are relying on in-house testing of the nanomaterials and processes used in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and electronics.

The particles are near-molecular in size, measuring only a few billionths of a meter.

Connor said the cigarette and automotive industries demonstrated the need to establish independent standards and testing protocols.

Already, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued guidelines for handling some silver waste materials, as a first regulatory step by the government.

"The governor of Texas has an enterprise fund and an emerging technology fund to identify cutting edge industries," said Connor, "and Texas will spend money to lure companies and train workers."

But Connor said the industry must assure worker and consumer safety, and that such assurances shouldn't come from in-house laboratories.

"As a general rule," said Connor, "third-party testing inspires more consumer confidence than if companies do it themselves."

The alliance between Texas State University, through its Nanomaterials Application Center, and a Houston startup company, nanoTox(TM), is a "great thing," Connor said.

"The university's objective is thorough work -- its reward is to be regarded as an academic institution of excellence."

Connor said the alliance between the university and nanoTox will foster the best and most highly regarded testing standards and protocols. He said a company doing its own testing could have different priorities, and their data might not be trusted by consumer and industrial safety groups.

Connor pointed to Texas A&M's involvement over the years in developing safety, testing, and inspection standards for manufacturers and chemical companies in the agricultural industry. nanoTox(TM) is a Texas corporation dedicated to testing, characterization and standardization of nanomaterials and potential risks they pose to people, animals and the environment. Visit the company's Web site at http://www.nanotox.com