Avaliação de impactos ambientais e sociais do uso da nanotecnologia na agricultura: uma proposta metodológica

Abstract

Nanotechnology has been reported as a technology that will have further development in this century and agricultural nanotechnologies gain space with the discovery of its potential applications in the transport of substances, nanosensors, nanocapsules, among others. Many of these nanoproducts are already found in the market or in development, therefore, exposure to nanoparticles concerns the scientific community and policy makers. In this context, this project aims to develop a methodology for assessing the environmental and social impacts of nanotechnology use in agriculture. Given the complexity and scope of nanotechnology, impact indicators were formulated by reviewing specialized scientific literature. The indicators were conceptually validated in a remote consultation with experts of areas related to agricultural nanotechnology through a questionnaire formulated according to the Delphi technique. The Impactos AGNano method has the indicators as an essential basis for its development and has two stages of evaluation: Safety Assessment (preliminary assessment to obtain the Security Index) and Impact Assessment (for obtaining Impact Index). The method was validated in a presential consultation with experts of areas related to nanotechnology in agriculture.