Nano Risk in Context. How Nanoscience Researchers Deal with Uncertainties

Abstract

Nanotechnology is a set of knowledge, technical skills, and instruments that enable to manipulate nanoscale objects. Its applications could impact everyday life and, in many countries, it has been defined as a public policy priority since the beginning of the 2000’s. However, there remain uncertainties about health and environmental risks that are related to the use of nanotechnology. This text deals with the cognitive strategies and practices of researchers in nanoscience in order to deal with such uncertainties. Based on interviews conducted in Paris research centers, three directions of analysis are considered: 1) the permanence of a rationalist and linear model of risk evaluation and regulation that shapes boundaries between inside and outside the laboratory; 2) the contextualization and relativization of risks within the laboratory; and 3) the regulation of risks in the laboratory, via a set of institutional procedures that are mainly aligned with the risk management model of industrial hygiene.