Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, on behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council, will hold a workshop entitled “Sensor Fabrication, Integration, and Commercialization” on September 11-12, 2014.  According to the August 7, 2014, Federal Register notice announcing the workshop, it will bring together experts from a wide-range of application areas, stages of product...

On July 29, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on “Nanotechnology:  Understanding How Small Solutions Drive Big Innovation.” Witnesses included: James M. Tour, Ph.D., T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University; Christian Binek, Ph.D., Associate Professor Physics and Astronomy,...

On July 29, 2014, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Economic Council (NEC) published a Federal Register notice requesting public comments to provide input for an upcoming update of the Strategy for American Innovation. According to the notice, the Strategy “helps to guide the Administration’s efforts to promote lasting economic growth and competitiveness through policies that support transformative American innovation in products,...

On July 24, 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) posted a report entitled Nanotechnology and Tyres: Greening Industry and Transport, which provides a risk management framework to enable site-specific or company-specific risk assessments or risk management strategies for using nanomaterials as additives in tires. OECD states that the report emphasizes the importance of: The policies to support research in the environmental, health, and safety...

On July 31, 2014, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) will hold a public webinar to provide a forum to answer questions related to the federal government’s “Progress Review on the Coordinated Implementation of the National Nanotechnology Initiative 2011 Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy.” According to the July 22, 2014, Federal Register notice, discussion will focus on the research activities undertaken by the National Nanotechnology Initiative...

The European Commission (EC) and the Scientific Committee on Emerging Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) have begun a public consultation on the preliminary opinion concerning “Guidance on the Determination of Potential Health Effects of Nanomaterials Used in Medical Devices.” The aim of the opinion is to address the use of nanomaterials in medical devices and to provide information for risk assessors regarding specific aspects that need to be considered in the safety evaluation of...

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) published a Federal Register notice on June 19, 2014, requesting available data and information on devices and/or technologies currently used for identifying potential inhalation hazards. According to NICEATM, it will use submitted information “to determine the technical requirements for developing effective inhalation toxicity tools to assess potential chemical or...

Registration is now open for Nano Risk Analysis (II), a workshop to explore how a multiple models approach can advance risk analysis of nanoscale materials. The workshop, which is being organized by the Emerging Nanoscale Materials Specialty Group (ENMSG) of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) and co-sponsored by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., will be held September 15-16, 2014, in Washington, D.C. The workshop will bring together experts from diverse disciplines to explore ways that...

On July 15, 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) posted the July 2014 Report of the OECD Expert Meeting on the Physical Chemical Properties of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Test Guidelines. The Report presents the discussion and recommendations from the February 28-March 1, 2013, workshop on “Physico-chemical Properties of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Test Guidelines.” OECD notes that the workshop was organized “in close collaboration...

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) published on July 6, 2015, the final report entitled Nanotechnologies for pesticides and veterinary medicines: regulatory considerations. According to the report, its objective is to highlight the regulatory issues that need to be considered when bringing agricultural or veterinary (agvet) chemical products of nanotechnology to the Australian market. The report addresses relevant aspects of nanotechnology including...