Nanopollutants are a current risk to the general population, but especially to workers in nanotechnology research and those in manufacturing of buildings. Nanopollutants are simply very small nanoparticles. They are small enough to enter the skin and be absorbed by the lungs, which can cause severe health problems. Another issue is that if the nanopollutants enter the bloodstream, they may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier, therefore opening up the possibility that these nanoparticles could severely damage the brain.
The use of nanotechnology not only presents health issues but also privacy concerns. With devices in the electronics field of nanotechnology ever developing, surveillance devices have become virtually undetectable and the ability to spy of people could dramatically increase. This may lead to privacy breaches.
A rather more far-fetched theory about a possible risk of the use of nanotechnology is the notion of the by-product of 'grey goo'. The theory is a hypothetical situation where simply put, 'out-of-control self-replicating robots' take over Earth, by consuming all matter.
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