Social and Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Implicaciones sociales y ambientales del desarrollo de las nanotecnologías en América Latina y el Caribe / Social and Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Produced by Guillermo Foladori and Noela Invernizzi with the collaboration of Fernando Bejarano in the SAICM sections.

March, 2012

SAICM is a voluntary treaty that the international community has agreed to be the global framework in which to discuss the methods of cooperation and specific actions that can be taken in relation to nanotechnology and products engineered with nanotechnology. Accordingly, there have been regional reunions and general meetings that have elaborated recommendations and amendments to resolutions that should be adopted by consensus during the Third International Conference on Chemical Management (ICCM3) that will be held in September, 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya, within the organization of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).

In this context, this informational brochure was developed to systemize the principal social, environmental and health implications of nanotechnology for workers and consumers in Latin America and Caribbean, with the objective of strengthening their participation in the public discussion on the actions that national government, industry, and civil society should take in order to comply with a preventative international regulatory framework.