Public perceptions of nanotechnology-enabled water treatment in a mining community in South Africa: A study of Bekkersdal

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dc.contributor.authorGxaba, Siyasanga Zinzi
dc.date.accessioned2020-11-16T22:23:42Z
dc.date.available2020-11-16T22:23:42Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.descriptionA dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020en_ZA
dc.description.abstractA considerable proportion of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water. Several factors are responsible for this situation including pollution by acid mine drainage due to mining activity. Nanotechnology is a relatively new approach at addressing water contamination. It involves the use of materials in the nano-scale (1-100 nanometres), as adsorbents or catalysts to remove or degrade pollutants. However, as with many new technologies, public perceptions are key to its successful deployment in water treatment. This study investigated the key factors that influence the perceptions of laypeople about nano-enabled water treatment. Using the mental model’s approach, data were collected using in-depth interviews and focus groups. Fourteen experts in the nanotechnology domain (researchers, nanotoxicologists, manufacturers) and forty-five laypeople from the Bekkersdal community took part in the study. Results show that laypeople had limited knowledge of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, or their application is water treatment. An analysis of the data nevertheless, revealed themes around the safety of these materials, the cost of nanotechnology-enabled water treatment devices, environmental implications of these materials, as well as health implications of accidentally ingesting them. Importantly, however, the ranking of these concerns amongst experts and lay people differed. These findings are discussed in nanotechnology development in the water domain in developing country context. These results suggest that people’s opinions about an innovation result from interplay of benefits and risks together with psychological and socio-economic factors associated with the outcome of the applicationen_ZA
dc.description.librarianCK2020en_ZA
dc.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/30203
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.schoolSchool of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Sciencesen_ZA
dc.titlePublic perceptions of nanotechnology-enabled water treatment in a mining community in South Africa: A study of Bekkersdalen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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