Environment Ministry formulates plan on nanotechnology

AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment is in the process of formulating the first plan on nanotechnology to identify and regulate its application in Jordan, according to a ministry's official.

Nanotechnology is increasingly being employed in different sectors and for various purposes in Jordan, which necessitates a survey on the scale of its application and its purposes, Mohammad Khashashneh, director of the Environment Ministry's hazardous substances and waste management directorate, said.

Nanotechnology is the manipulation and manufacture of materials and devices on the scale of atoms or small groups of atoms. The “nanoscale” is typically measured in nanometres, or billionths of a metre, and materials built at this scale often exhibit distinctive physical and chemical properties due to quantum mechanical effects, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

"Nanotechnology is effective in many ways and in a number of sectors. It is helping in the advancement of humans' wellbeing and in the remediation of environmental pollution. Nonetheless, it is imperative to regulate its application to prevent harm to the environment," Khashashneh told The Jordan Times.

Nanotechnology can pose serious dangers to the environment in several ways, such as increased toxicological pollution on the environment due to the uncertain shape, size and chemical composition of some of the nanotechnology products, or nanomaterials, web sources underlined.

Khashashneh stressed the importance of understanding and assessing the possible hazards that nanomaterials can pose to the environment and public health.