Blogs

Earlier this month the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a fact sheet sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Nanotechnology Working Group entitled Personal Protective Equipment for Engineered Nanoparticles.  The fact sheet defines engineered nanoparticles as intentionally produced solid particles with at least one dimension in the size range of approximately 1 to 100 nanometers.  According to the fact sheet, “[r]ecent...

On November 24, 2015, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Case No. 14-73353, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Respondent; EPA) filed a motion for voluntary vacatur and remand of EPA’s registration, as amended, of Dow AgroSciences LLC’s (Dow) Enlist Duo herbicide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  The motion for vacatur is unusual and noteworthy to all pesticide registrants. This case commenced in October 2014 when the...

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) announced on October 27, 2015, EWG VERIFIED™, a verification program intended “to give consumers peace of mind at point of sale as they try to avoid toxic and potentially harmful chemicals and contaminants commonly found in consumer goods.”  Under the program, products must follow the European Union’s (EU) labeling guidelines for nanomaterials used in cosmetics.  EWG VERIFIED™ items must be free of substances on EWG’s...

In a press release issued on November 22, 2015, the Canadian province of Québec (Quebec) announced its release of Québec Pesticide Strategy 2015-2018.  Although the Strategy itself is available only in French, Québec has provided a summary of the Strategy in English, which is available here. Québec’s press release states that the Strategy “sets out the major directions and goals that will guide government action to protect public health, pollinators, and the environment in...

ProSafe has launched an online Delphi Forum on whether risk management is on pace with innovation for nanomaterial uses.   ProSafe will use expert discussion between those working with manufacture and health and safety of specific nanomaterial uses to develop a white paper proposing a path forward for risk management policies for nanomaterial uses.  To join the Forum, follow the instructions below: Go to https://scipinion.com/; In the access code box for “ProSafe Delphi...

According to an item in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Fall 2015 Regulatory Agenda, EPA intends to promulgate a final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) rule in October 2016 concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale.  EPA’s April 6, 2015, proposed rule includes one-time reporting for existing nanoscale materials and one-time reporting for new discrete...

On November 17, 2015, Steven Cohen, the Director of Catalyst and Chemicals Technology at Elevance Renewable Sciences, presented a new line of high performance, biobased specialty chemicals and intermediates at the 6th Biobased Chemicals: Commercialization & Partnering Conference. The new product line, called Renewicals™, has a variety of market applications including surfactant, lubricant, consumer ingredient, engineering polymer, and coating. Elevance, a Biobased and Renewable...

On November 16, 2015, The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) of South Africa called for submissions of Statements of Interest focusing on the demonstration of 2nd and 3rd generation biofuel production technologies. TIA manages the Biofuels Technology Demonstration Programme (BTDP) on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and is looking to support South African advanced biofuel production technology. To submit a proposal, applicants must be South African citizens, be...

On November 12, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other environmental and scientific experts to create the Nutrient Recycling Challenge (NRC). The competition was created to develop technology to recycle nitrogen and phosphorus from the more than one billion tons of livestock waste that is produced annually. The NRC is made up of four phases, allowing innovators to turn concepts into designs, and...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently posted four reflection papers that discuss the possible release of nanomaterials from waste treatment operations and a literature review on four specific waste treatment processes of recycling, incineration, landfilling, and wastewater treatment.  The papers aim to point out the knowledge gaps and areas where further research is needed. Incineration of Waste Containing Nanomaterials: The paper was developed to attempt...