UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF NANOMATERIALS AND THEIR SAFETY IN THE EU Final report November 2020 1 Understanding the public’s perception of nanomaterials and how their safety is perceived in the EU Final report 2 Disclaimer This study was commissioned by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and was carried out by SC&C s.r.o., EcoMole s.r.o. and ReachSpektrum s.r.o. Authors Miloš Tengler, SC&C s.r.o. Jana Hamanová, SC&C s.r.o. Tomáš Novotný, EcoMole s.r.o. Simona Popelková, EcoMole s.r.o. Jan Holomek, ReachSpektrum s.r.o. Viktorie Kováčová, SC&C s.r.o. Filip Oliva, SC&C s.r.o. Jana Trávníčková, ReachSpektrum s.r.o. Dušan Bašić, EcoMole s.r.o. Kryštof Dibusz, EcoMole s.r.o. This publication is solely intended for information purposes and does not necessarily represent the official opinion of the European Chemicals Agency. The European Chemicals Agency is not responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this document. Version Changes UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF NANOMATERIALS AND THEIR SAFETY IN THE EU Reference: ECHA-20-R-13-EN ISBN: 978-92-9481-730-3 Cat. Number: ED-03-20-772-EN-N DOI: 10.2823/82474 Publ.date: November 2020 Language: EN © European Chemicals Agency, 2020 Cover page © European Chemicals Agency If you have questions or comments in relation to this document, please send them (quote the reference and issue date) using the information request form. The information request form can be accessed via the Contact ECHA page at: http://echa.europa.eu/contact European Chemicals Agency Mailing address: P.O. Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland Visiting address: Telakkakatu 6, Helsinki, Finland 2 Table of Contents LIST OF GRAPHS ......................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF CARTOGRAMS ................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF WORDCLOUDS ............................................................................................... 8 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 10 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 10 General awareness of nanomaterials/nanotechnology ......................................................... 11 Shopping habits and behaviour related to products containing nanomaterials ..................... 11 General risk perception ........................................................................................................ 11 Risk perception related to nanomaterials ............................................................................. 12 Possible drivers in the perception of risks and benefits of nanomaterials/nanotechnology . 12 Attitudes related to nanomaterials ....................................................................................... 13 Information sources ............................................................................................................. 13 Trust in authorities ............................................................................................................... 13 Labelling of products containing nanomaterials ................................................................... 13 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 14 1. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 16 1.1 Primary Literature Review ...................................................................................... 16 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 16 Systematic desk research and collection of previous research reports and publications ..................... 16 Study selection........................................................................................................................ 17 Data extraction ....................................................................................................................... 21 1.2 Methodology of data collection on the public’s perception of nanomaterials and how their safety is perceived in the EU ................................................................................. 22 Designing a targeted survey (questionnaire and survey methodology) ........................................... 22 2. DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................... 32 2.1 Questionnaire preparation and testing ...................................................................... 32 2.2 Fieldwork.............................................................................................................. 33 2.3 First data check and preparation of data ................................................................... 33 3. ANALYSIS OF THE COLLECTED AND EXTRACTED DATA ......................................... 34 3.1 General awareness of nanomaterials ........................................................................ 34 Declarative awareness level ...................................................................................................... 35 Specific knowledge about nanomaterials ..................................................................................... 43 Spontaneous associations with the term “nanomaterials” .............................................................. 45 Prompted associations with the term “nanomaterials” .................................................................. 47 3.2 General shopping habits and shopping behaviour related to products containing nanomaterials ..................................................................................................... 51 Searching for information when buying goods ............................................................................. 52 Willingness to buy, shopping habits ........................................................................................... 54 Purchase intentions for products containing nanomaterials ........................................................... 56 Purchase intentions for products containing nanomaterials outside the EU ...................................... 58 Reasons for reservations when buying products containing nanomaterials ...................................... 59 3.3 Risk perception ..................................................................................................... 61 General attitudes to health risks ................................................................................................ 62 Attitudes to new trends and possible impact on everyday life ........................................................ 62 3.4 Risk perception of nanomaterials ............................................................................. 65 Public perception of risks linked to nanomaterials ........................................................................ 67 3 Potential risks of nanomaterials ................................................................................................. 73 Explanatory text about nanomaterials – the impact of communication on attitudes .......................... 75 Public perception of risks and benefits of nanomaterials outside the EU .......................................... 81 3.5 Attitudes related to nanomaterials ........................................................................... 83 Use of nanomaterials in various types of products ....................................................................... 85 General attitudes towards nanomaterials .................................................................................... 87 3.6 Information sources ............................................................................................... 99 Awareness of nanomaterials ................................................................................................... 100 Information sources ............................................................................................................... 102 European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) awareness ............................................. 106 3.7 Trust in authorities .............................................................................................. 107 Trust in authorities in Europe .................................................................................................. 108 Trust in authorities outside of Europe ....................................................................................... 110 Preferred information sources for nanomaterials ........................................................................ 111 3.8 Labelling of products containing nanomaterials ........................................................ 114 Need for information .............................................................................................................. 114 Need for information outside the EU ......................................................................................... 118 4. SUMMARY ..........................................................................................................