When even the 'best-laid' plans go wrong.

Abstract

After ploughing over a mouse's nest in his field, a farmer laments, “But Mousie, thou art no thy‐lane [not alone], in proving foresight may be vain; The best‐laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley [often go wrong], an’ lea‘e us nought but grief an’ pain, for promis‘d joy!” (Williams, 1952). The farmer's words, penned by eighteenth century poet Robert Burns, aptly summarize one of the primary challenges facing risk managers: despite best intentions and efforts to eliminate negative consequences, technological progress creates new and unforeseen hazards. Such is the nature of risk and, some might say, the cost of progress. > …scientists are as much ‘in the dark’ about how individuals, groups and other stakeholders will respond to the new and emerging risks of nanotechnology and other technologies as the public is ignorant about the science The delicate balance between risks and benefits is evident today in ongoing public debates about biotechnology, gene therapy and now nanotechnology. Scientists and engineers are abuzz with excitement about the substantial promise of nanotechnology to improve food, agricultural, medical and security systems; yet we already see growing public concern about the real and potential ethical implications associated with this new technology, the possibilities of its misuse and other unforeseen risks or consequences. Popular media accounts and bestselling novels do their part in fuelling the public's perceptions of risks and hazards, but, as with any emerging technology, a shortage of public knowledge and a great deal of uncertainty about the science also exists. It is equally likely, however, that scientists are as much ‘in the dark’ about how individuals, groups and other stakeholders will respond to the new and emerging risks of nanotechnology and other technologies, as the public is ignorant about the science. Today, it is essentially a truism in risk communication that …