Blogs

During the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization’s (SNO) 2014 Conference, held November 2-4, 2014, in Boston, Massachusetts, Lynn L. Bergeson presented the session “Current Developments in Nanotechnology Law and Policy.” SNO, a non-profit, international professional society dedicated to advancing sustainable nanotechnology through education, research, and promotion of responsible development of nanotechnology, intended the conference to bring together scientific experts from academia,...

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Working Group met on September 30-October 7, 2014, to review the carcinogenicity of fluoro-edenite, silicon carbide (SiC) fibers and whiskers, and carbon nanotubes (CNT). A summary of the evaluations has now been published in The Lancet Oncology. The summary states: Fluoro-edenite fibrous amphibole was classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) on the basis of sufficient evidence in humans that exposure to...

On October 22, 2014, Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) opened the China-U.S. Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project, a demonstration facility that will turn used cooking oil into aviation biofuel at a rate of 170 gallons per day. This project will assess the feasibility of producing higher volumes of biofuel, as China has enough used cooking oil to make as much as 500 million gallons of biofuel annually. Working together since 2012, Boeing and COMAC support China's...

During a summit in Brussels on October 23-24, 2014, European Union (EU) leaders agreed to a blueprint to guide climate and energy policy through 2030. The overall goals of the blueprint are to achieve a 40 percent emissions reduction by 2030, relative to 1990 emissions levels, as well as a target of 27 percent for total energy consumption in the EU being provided by renewable sources by 2030. The EU already has a 20 percent emissions reduction target for 2020. The target is expected to help...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) issued an announcement for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, including the technology transfer opportunity, which focuses on small businesses' commercialization of intellectual property from DOE-funded laboratories and universities. Small businesses selected for the programs are allowed to maintain the rights to new technologies they...

On October 27, 2014, President Obama announced new plans to strengthen the manufacturing sector. One of the listed plans involved the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) coming together to invest in advanced materials, advanced sensors, and digital manufacturing. These three areas were determined to be critical to U.S. competitiveness and include biobased materials in the advanced materials category. Over $300 million is...

While it may seem like it was just last week that the 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards were announced, the deadline for the 2015 awards is fast approaching -- December 31, 2014. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reverting back to its original end-of-calendar-year deadline after having a Spring deadline in recent years, and the 2015 awards will be presented in Summer 2015. The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards promote the environmental and economic...

On October 27, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed to amend the regulations for the Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products under USDA's BioPreferred Program. As explained in the Federal Register notice, the proposed amendments are needed to address certain legislative requirements in the 2014 Farm Bill that cannot be implemented without further guidance. Specifically, the proposed amendments allow for USDA promotion of biobased products regardless of date of...

The Center for Research on Ingredient Safety (CRIS), which was established at Michigan State University (MSU) in partnership with the Grocery Manufacturers Association in April 2014, will hold its first open house on November 20-21, 2014. Members and prospective members will have the opportunity to meet MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, hear presentations, and participate in round table discussions. CRIS will be modeled after already existing centers of expertise at other academic...

On October 27, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated significant new use rules (SNUR) for 52 chemical substances, including “functionalized carbon nanotubes (generic).” According to the Federal Register notice, the premanufacture notice (PMN) states that the substance will be used as a thin film for electronic device applications. The notice states that, as described in the PMN, EPA “does not expect significant occupational exposures due to the use of...