Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a request for information (RFI) on October 5, 2021, requesting input on the development of a National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. 86 Fed. Reg. 55022. Through the RFI, OSTP seeks input from the public on ways to improve government coordination and on long-term guidance for federal programs and activities in support of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. According to the RFI, advanced manufacturing is a...

The Swedish National Platform for Nanosafety (SweNanoSafe) will hold a workshop on November 29, 2021, on “Safe and Sustainable by Design: a prerequisite for achieving a circular economy.” SweNanoSafe states that “Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) is based on the consideration and minimization of uncertainties and risks to human health and the environment from an early stage of the innovation process and throughout the lifecycle of the innovation product.” The concept of SSbD...

The Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) announced on August 9, 2021, publication of a study entitled Characterization of Unintentionally Released Nanometric Particles in Various Workplaces. The study characterizes unintentionally released nanoparticles (URNP) found in six workplaces — an underground mine, a truck repair shop, an underground transportation network, a foundry, a machine shop, and a wax casting shop — on the basis of...

On September 7, 2021, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) posted a preliminary opinion on “Draft Environmental Quality Standards for Priority Substances under the Water Framework Directive” for silver and its compounds. The Water Framework Directive requires the EC to identify priority substances among those presenting significant risk to or via the aquatic environment and to set environmental quality standards (EQS) for...

Registration has opened for a September 22, 2021, webinar held by the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) on “What We Know about NanoEHS: Measurement and Characterization.” The webinar’s speakers will explore the impact of advances in nanomaterial measurement and characterization on the safe and responsible development of nanotechnology. Vincent Hackley, Research Chemist, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will moderate. The panel will include:...

As reported in our May 7, 2021, blog item, the European Commission (EC) held a targeted stakeholder consultation as part of its review of the Recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial. The EC held the consultation to update, test, and verify the preliminary findings of its review, gathering further evidence and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders who have a role in application of the harmonized regulatory definition of nanomaterial in the European Union (EU)....

The National Research Center for the Working Environment (NFA) in Denmark will hold a course on October 10, 2019, on the Nano-Risk Governance Portal, a new portal for the risk management of nanomaterials.  NanoSafety Cluster Week will be held October 7-10, 2019, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and will include: The Nano-Risk Governance Portal will launch in October 2019.  Funded by the European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program...

According to Australia, after the first year of operation of the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS), the regulated industry and staff within the Office of Chemical Safety have identified “minor operational issues” that require amendments to the details set out in the Ministerial Rules. Australia is proposing targeted amendments to the Industrial Chemicals (General Rules) 2019 and the Industrial Chemicals (Consequential Amendments and Transitional...

ASTM recently announced that it published a standard, E3275, that seeks to familiarize laboratory scientists with background information and technical content necessary to image and identify engineered nanomaterials in cellular and noncellular samples. According to ASTM, the standard is specific to the use of the darkfield microscopy/hyperspectral imaging analysis technique. ASTM states that in this technique, the resulting sample analysis allows for direct visualization and...

On August 18, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued several significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN), including the chemical substance identified generically as multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PMN P-18-182). 86 Fed. Reg. 46133. The SNUR requires persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process multiwalled carbon nanotubes...