Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., “Australia Announces Updates on NICNAS New Chemicals Processes for Industrial Nanomaterials,” Nanotechnologies Industries Association, May 6, 2011.

As nano aficionados know, last October the Australian Chemical Gazette included a notice that the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) announced that it was introducing new administrative processes for the notification and assessment of industrial nanomaterials that are considered to be “new” chemicals. The new administrative provisions were effective on January 1, 2011, and apply to any new chemical that falls under the working definition of “industrial nanomaterial.” NICNAS also issued guidance on the notification program. Recently, the NICNAS provided an update on its track record to date on the new system. Before providing the update, noted below is a brief background with the new notification program.