On February 12, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a request for information (RFI) from biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders on existing biofuels and bioproducts plant capabilities. The facilities should have the "capability to perform process verifications for biomass conversion pathways to biofuels, bioproducts, or intermediates that integrate multiple unit operations on a scale of approximately 0.5 or greater tons of dry biomass input per day." The RFI...
February 11, 2016
NIOSH Extends Comment Period on Draft CIB on Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials
On February 10, 2016, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice extending the comment period on the draft NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin: Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials. As reported in our January 22, 2016, blog item, the draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) includes a review and assessment of the currently available scientific literature on the toxicological effects of exposure to...
February 10, 2016
Bayer Announces That It Will Not Submit Voluntary Cancellation Requests for Flubendiamide
Significant issues concerning the scope of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to cancel conditional registrations are raised by recent events concerning flubendiamide products sold in the U.S. by BayerCrop Science LP (Bayer) under the trade name Belt. Bayer announced on February 5, 2016, that it will not comply with EPA’s request that Bayer “voluntarily” cancel its registered flubendiamide products. In a January 29, 2016, letter, EPA stated that...
February 6, 2016
EC Publishes Inception Impact Assessment Concerning Possible REACH Annex Amendments for Registration of Nanomaterials
On February 2, 2016, the European Commission (EC) published an inception impact assessment concerning “Possible amendments of Annexes to REACH for registration of nanomaterials.” According to the inception impact assessment, the EC identified a need for more specific requirements for nanomaterials to ensure further clarity on how nanomaterials are addressed and safety demonstrated in registration dossiers to attain the aims of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and...
On January 26, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Discharges from the Application of Pesticides in the Federal Register, which applies to discharges of pesticides to waters of the United States. EPA is requesting comments on the draft permit by March 11, 2016. This draft 2016 pesticide general permit (PGP) is largely an updated version of the 2011 PGP,...
February 5, 2016
Neste’s Renewable Diesel Is Now Available In Italian Alps, Will Power Marcialonga Cross-Country Ski
On January 26, 2016, Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member Neste Oil announced that Tamoil has begun selling arctic diesel containing renewable diesel produced by Neste in the northern Italian Alps region. The fuel, Gasolio Artico Tamoil - New Generation Diesel, will contain at least 20 percent renewable diesel and will reduce emissions while providing excellent performance in cold conditions. Neste's renewable diesel does not contain conventional fatty acid...
The 2016 World Bio Markets Bio Business Awards are now accepting nominations for categories covering people, companies, and projects that have advanced the bioeconomy. The eight categories for the 2016 awards are: Biofuels Partnership of the Year; Bio-Based Brand of the Year; Breakthrough Bio-Based Technology Platform; WBM Bio-Based Business Person of the Year; Bio-Based Chemical Partnership of the Year; WBM Industry Champion 2016; Bio-Based Product...
February 5, 2016
Dates And Locations Of “Modernizing The Regulatory System For Biotechnology Products” Meetings Annou
On February 1, 2016, the dates and locations for the last two public engagement sessions discussing the "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products" memorandum were announced. The first meeting occurred on October 30, 2015, and a record of the meeting is available on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. The second of the three meetings will be held on March 9, 2016, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 6 office in Dallas,...
February 5, 2016
Biotechnology: APHIS Seeks Comment on Potentially Significant Changes to Regulations Regarding GE Or
According to a Federal Register notice published on February 5, 2016, 81 Fed. Reg. 6225, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced its intent to "prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with potential changes to the regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain genetically engineered [(GE)] organisms." The notice identifies...
February 3, 2016
OSTP Seeks Nanotechnology Commercialization Success Stories
On February 2, 2016, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published in the Federal Register a request for information (RFI) seeking examples of commercialization success stories stemming from U.S. government-funded nanotechnology research and development (R&D) since the inception of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in 2001. OSTP states that the information gathered in response to this RFI may be used as examples to highlight the NNI’s...