Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

On June 13, 2014, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published its final opinion on “Nanosilver:  safety, health and environmental effects and role in antimicrobial resistance.” SCENIHR states that the opinion is intended “to assess whether the use of nanosilver, in particular in medical care and in consumer products, could result in additional risks compared to more traditional uses of silver and whether the...

Last month, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released a report entitled The State of the National Initiative on Prevention through Design, which provides an overview of the progress and accomplishments of the Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative. The ultimate goal is to prevent or reduce occupational injuries, illnesses, or fatalities through the inclusion of prevention considerations into all designs that might impact workers. According to the report,...

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published on May 15, 2014, a review of the available literature on health and environmental issues relating to manufactured nanomaterials.  According to ANSES, the review “will help clarify scientific understanding and demonstrate the toxic effects of some nanomaterials on living organisms and the environment.” ANSES states that it is difficult to assess the specific risks associated with...

On May 19, 2014, the European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced the availability of a report discussing labeling and reporting schemes for nanomaterials in consumer products in the European Union (EU). The JRC notes that current EU legislation requires nanomaterials to be reported in the list of ingredients, with “nano” added in brackets after the substance name, for food, cosmetics, and biocides.  According to the JRC, manufacturers sometimes add voluntary...

The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology will hold a hearing on May 20, 2014, on “Nanotechnology:  From Laboratories to Commercial Products.” Scheduled witnesses include: Dr. Timothy Persons, Chief Scientist, United States Government Accountability Office; Dr. Lloyd Whitman, Interim Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office and Deputy Director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of...

An International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Advisory Group met on April 7-9, 2014, to recommend priorities for IARC Monographs during 2015-2019. The Advisory Group assessed the responses to a call for nominations and recommended a range of agents and exposures as high or medium priorities for assessment. According to the recommendations published in Lancet Oncology, multi-walled carbon nanotubes are a high priority for assessment — “cancer bioassay...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Biocidal Products Committee (BPC) adopted an opinion on April 10, 2014, concerning HeiQ AGS-20 (AGS-20). The European Commission (EC) requested an opinion on the following questions: With regard to the biocidal product AGS-20, should silver or silver adsorbed on silicon dioxide be considered as the active substance? Would this active substance meet the definition of a nanomaterial, as provided in Article 3(1)(z) of the Biocidal Products Regulation...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will hold a topical scientific workshop on October 23-24, 2014, on regulatory challenges in the risk assessment of nanomaterials.  The workshop will bring together experts in the field of risk assessment of nanomaterials to discuss and update scientific principles and guidelines for assessing human health and environmental risks of chemicals substances in nanoform. According to ECHA, the workshop will also provide a platform for academia...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $5 million, four-year grant to investigators led by Arizona State University to study the life cycle of nanomaterials. According to EPA’s description of the award, the project involves an interdisciplinary team of chemists, toxicologists, scientists, engineers, and social scientists to evaluate the trade-offs between intended function of nanomaterials in products and risks to humans and the environment across their life...

Earlier this month, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and its European partners published a position paper on the regulation of nanomaterials at a meeting of the European Union (EU) competent authorities. According to the position paper, current EU legislation “does not guarantee that all nanomaterials on the market are safe by being assessed separately from the bulk form of the substance.” The position paper asks the European Commission (EC) to...