The need to have an express regulation covering nanotechnology has been the subject of debate in the scientific literature and identified as one of the main subsets of nanotechnology field research. However, most countries still do not have regulatory framework in order to guarantee consumer safety. This is the case of Costa Rica, one of the most promising countries in Latin America in terms of biotechnology and nanotechnology. This article presents a statistical study about the position of industry, academia and government institutions on the need to expressly regulate nanotechnology in Costa Rica. A qualitative study consisting of a survey of 79 forms was done to individuals representing the community involved with nanotechnology and institutions responsible for ensuring the safety of the citizen’s health, to conclude that the nanotechnology regulation should be created to protect the consumer in Costa Rica. The research also proposes aspects that should be taken into account in its drafting as well as the variables on which decisions should be made to authorize the commercialization of nanomaterials based on the findings of the literature.
KeywordsNanotechnologyRegulationSecurityConsumer
Sercan Ozcan, N.I. (2017) Patent Information Retrieval: Approaching a Method and Analyzing Nanotechnology Patent Collaborations. Scientometrics, 111, 941-970. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2325-y
Douglas Henrique Milanez, L.I. (2014) Patents in Nanotechnology: An Analysis Using Macro-Indicators and Forecasting Curves. Scientometrics, 101, 1097-1112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1244-4
Leonardo da Silva Sant’Anna, M.S. (2013) Nanomaterials Patenting in Brazil: Some Considerations for the National Regulatory Framework. Scientometrics, 100, 675-686. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1300-0
Lili Wang, A.N. (2013) Interdisciplinarity of Nano Research Fields: A Keyword Mining Approach. Scientometrics, 94, 877-892. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0856-9
Thara Prabhakaran, H.H. (2019) Competing, Complementary and Co-Existing Paradigms in Techno-Scientific Literature: A Case Study of Nanotechnology for Engineering. Scientometrics, 118, 941-977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03013-2
Asociación Estrategia Siglo XXI (2006) Asociación Estrategia Siglo XXI. 2006. Estrategia Siglo XXI: Conocimiento e innovación hacia el 2050 en Costa Rica: síntesis de la visión y Plan de Medio Siglo en ciencia y tecnología en Costa Rica. Fundación Crusa, San José.
Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (2011) Decreto Ejecutivo. No. 36567.
Political Constitution of Costa Rica (1949) San José.
José, S. and Rica, C. (1994) Law 7472 de Promotion of Competence and Effective Defense of the Consumer.
National Consumer Commission, Voto 316-00 (17 de 07 de 2000).
Fisher González, V. (2015) Agricultura y alimentación: El principio precautorio a la luz del derecho comparado y nacional. IUDEX, 103-123.
Vega, J.R. (2017) Políticas nacionales de desarrollo de la nanotecnología en Costa Rica. Revista Digital Universitaria, 14.
Supreme Court of Justice, 2006-017747 (Resolution 2006).
Siegrist, M.K. (2007) Laypeople’s and Experts’ Perception of Nanotechnology Hazards. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 27, 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2006.00859.x
Cormick, C. (2009) Why Do We Need to Know What the Public Thinks about Nanotechnology? NanoEthics, 3, 167-173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-009-0065-z
Gupta, N.F. (2015) Ethics, Risk and Benefits Associated with Different Applications of Nanotechnology: A Comparison of Expert and Consumer Perceptions of Drivers of Societal Acceptance. NanoEthics, 9, 93-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-015-0222-5
Dalton-Brown, S. (2016) Public engagement and nanotechnology in Australia. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 25, 518-525. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180116000268
Brunel, M.L. (2017) Is the Social Representation of Nanotechnology Anchored in that of GMOs? Journal of Risk Research, 21, 1-16.
Bowman, D. and Hodge, G. (2007) A Small Matter of Regulation: An International Review of Nanotechnology Regulation. Science and Technology Law Review, 8, 1-36.
Chau, C.-F., Wu, S.-H. and Yen, G.-C. (2007) The Development of Regulations for Food Nanotechnology. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 18, 269-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2007.01.007
Aschberger, K., Rauscher, H., Crutzen, H., Rasmussen, K., Christensen, F.M., Sokull-Klüttgen, B. and Stamm, H. (2014) Considerations on Information Needs for Nanomaterials in Consumer Products. Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Brussels.
Food and Drug Administration (2014) Guidance for Industry Considering Whether an FDA-Regulated Product Involves the Application of Nanotechnology. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring.
Lyndon, M. (1989) Information Economics and Chemical Toxicity: Designing Laws to Produce and Use Data. Michigan Law Review, 7, 1795-1861. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1289204 https://doi.org/10.2307/1289204
Conley, S. (2013) Anticipatory Governance in Practice? Nanotechnology Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In: Hays, S., Robert, J., Miller, C. and Bennett, I., Eds., Nanotechnology, the Brain, and the Future. Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society, Springer, Dordrecht, 373-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1787-9_21
Levi-Faur, D. and Comaneshter, H. (2007) The Risks of Regulation and the Regulation of Risks: The Governance of Nanotechnology. In: Hodge, G.A., Bowman, D.M. and Ludlow, K., Eds., New Global Frontiers in Regulation: The Age of Nanotechnology, Elgar, Cheltenham, 149-165.
Ludlow, K., Bowman, D. and Kirk, D. (2009) Hitting the Mark or Falling Short with Nanotechnology Regulation? Trends in Biotechnology, 27, 615-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2009.07.007
Lin, A. (2007) Size Matters: Regulating Nanotechnology. Harvard Environmental Law Review, 31, 349.
Martirosyan, A. and Schneider, Y.-J. (2014) Engineered Nanomaterials in Food: Implications for Food Safety and Consumer Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11, 5720-5750. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110605720
Wong, P., Ho, Y. and Chan, K. (2007) Internationalization and Evolution of Application Areas of an Emerging Technology: The Case of Nanotechnology. Scientometrics, 70, 715-737. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-007-0309-z
Livney, Y.D. (2015) Nanostructured Delivery Systems in Food: Latest Developments and Potential Future Directions. Current Opinion in Food Science, 3, 125-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2015.06.010
He, X. and Hwang, H.M. (2016) Nanotechnology in Food Science: Functionality, Applicability, and Safety Assessment. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 24, 671-681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfda.2016.06.001
Vance, M., Kuiken, T., Vejerano, E., McGinnis, S., Hochella, M., Rejeski, D. and Hull, M. (2015) Nanotechnology in the Real World: Redeveloping the Nanomaterial Consumer Products Inventory. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, 6, 1769-1780. https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.6.181
Chaudhry, Q., Scotter, M., Blackburn, J., Bryony, R., Boxall, A., Castle, L., Watkins, R., et al. (2008) Applications and Implications of Nanotechnologies for the Food Sector. Food Additives and Contaminants—Part A, 25, 241-258.
Coase, R.H. (1960) The Problem of Social Cost. In: Gopalakrishnan, C., Ed., Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 87-137. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523210_6
Bawa, R. (2013) FDA and Nanotech: Baby Steps Lead to Regulatory Uncertainty. In: Bagchi, D., Bagchi, M., Moriyama, F. and Shahidi, F., Eds., Bio-Nanotechnology: A Revolution in Food, Biomedical and Health Science, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., New York, 720-732. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118451915.ch41
EFSA (2018) Public Consultation on the Draft EFSA Guidance on the Risk Assessment of the Application of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies in the Food and Feed Chain: Part 1, Human and Animal Health. Brussels.
Baalousha, M. and Lead, J. (2013) Nanoparticle Dispersity in Toxicology. Nature Nanotechnology, 8, 308-309. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.78
Jiang, J., Oberdörster, G. and Biswas, P. (2009) Characterization of Size, Surface Charge, and Agglomeration State of Nanoparticle Dispersions for Toxicological Studies. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 11, 77-89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-008-9446-4
Padovani, G., Feitosa, V., Sauro, S., Tay, F., Durán, G., Paula, A. and Durán, N. (2015) Advances in Dental Materials through Nanotechnology: Facts, Perspectives and Toxicological Aspects. Trends in Biotechnology, 33, 621-636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2015.09.005
Laux, P., Tentschert, J., Riebeling, C., Braeuning, A., Creutzenberg, O., Epp, A., Luch, A., et al. (2018) Nanomaterials: Certain Aspects of Application, Risk Assessment and Risk Communication. Archives of Toxicology, 92, 121-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-017-2144-1
Toropova, A. and Toropov, A. (2015) Mutagenicity: QSAR-Quasi-QSAR-Nano-QSAR. Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, 15, 608-621. https://doi.org/10.2174/1389557515666150219121652
Epa, V.C., Burden, F.R., Tassa, C., Weissleder, R., Shaw, S. and Winkler, D.A. (2012) Modeling Biological Activities of Nanoparticles. Nano Letters, 12, 5808-5812. https://doi.org/10.1021/nl303144k
Luan, F., Kleandrova, V., González-Diaz, H., Ruso, J., Melo, A., Speck-Planche, A. and Cordeiro, M. (2014) Computer-Aided Nanotoxicology: Assessing Cytotoxicity of Nanoparticles under Diverse Experimental Conditions by Using a Novel QSTR-Perturbation Approach. Nanoscale, 6, 288-294. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4NR01285B
Toropova, A., Toropov, A., Benfenati, E., Korenstein, R., Leszczynska, D. and Leszczynski, J. (2015) Optimal Nano-Descriptors as Translators of Eclectic Data into Prediction of the Cell Membrane Damage by Means of Nano Metal-Oxides. Environmental Science Pollution Research, 22, 745-757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3566-4