Nanotechnology, which is currently unregulated in Mexico, could pose serious threats to human health and the environment, cautions a new study. "Far from a policy of precaution vis-à-vis these new technologies, products are entering the market without regulation to guarantee their safety or labels to inform of their use," researcher Guillermo Foladori of the public Autonomous University of Zacatecas told Tierramérica.

Foladori and his colleague Noela Invernizzi are the co-authors of a new report, "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), presented on Mar. 7 in Mexico City.

Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale to change its physical and chemical properties, and is used in electronic components, cosmetics and packaging, among other products.