Nanotecnologia e suas implicações na Engenharia Ambiental

Abstract

Nanotechnology is an innovative science that includes many areas of research and handling of objects measured in nanometers, which are equivalent to a billionth of a meter, and with the ability to manipulate atoms and molecules in order to create more complex structures. Nanotechnology has been considered the centerpiece in what economists call the fourth Industrial Revolution, as it stands out for its multidisciplinarity, and fits into the group of converging technologies, due to interaction and cooperative combination between different areas of knowledge Despite looking like a recent technology, it is much older than one can imagine, Nanotechnology has been applied since the Middle Ages, but the alchemists who used these nanoparticles did not have the knowledge of what they were and that they would be studied many years later. From the construction of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope, which allowed evaluating new structures that could not be analyzed due to the technological limitations of the time. Recently, Nanotechnology has been disseminated throughout the world, with promises of a better quality of life and practicality for the human being's daily life. However, little is discussed about the dangers that nanotechnology can offer, as for the health of the worker as of the consumer, and also for the environment, due to the diverse global risks that cross borders. Not to mention the absence of specific scientific, legal or social legislation regarding to Nanotechnology in Brazil and the rest of the world. The study aims to carry out a bibliographical survey of the applications, risks and future perspectives of nanotechnology in the environment. The methodologies adopted were the 5W2H tools with GUT and QCA prioritization, for the purpose of obtaining the sixteen mai topics for the Literature Review. The result of the study is not intended to exhaust the subject, but to provide evidence: On the recent and unpublished pre-approved Bill Nº. 880, which is still deserving of some additions and changes, in order to contribute exclusively to a more qualified as an extremely important subject, which is Nanotechnology. About the great risks that nanomaterials pose due to their properties and behaviors so diverse that it is impossible to make a generic assessment of their damage to health and the environment. The society to be more participatory in the process, which is practically null even due to lack of knowledge about Nanotechnology. On the subject and the negligence on the part of the public sector regarding the few resources destined to the impacts of Nanotechnology. Environmental Engineering is responsible for continuously evaluating the development of technologies from the point of view of their potential risk, seeking alternatives and solutions that minimize or eliminate possible damage to the environment or health.