Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

On January 24, 2019, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a document entitled Continuing to Protect the Nanotechnology Workforce:  NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Plan for 2018-2025.  NIOSH is using the Nanotechnology Research Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2018-2025 as a roadmap to advance:  (1) understanding of nanotechnology-related toxicology and workplace exposures; and (2) implementation of appropriate risk management practices...

On January 9, 2019, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) announced a three-month delay in its enforcement of the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program (Disclosure Program), from July 1, 2019, to October 1, 2019.  NYSDEC published its announcement in the January 9, 2019, Environmental Notice Bulletin.  As reported in our June 8, 2018, blog item, the Disclosure Program requires manufacturers of cleaning...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on December 19, 2018, that it published several new substance evaluation conclusion documents, including one for silver.  Silver was added to the Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) list in 2014 and evaluated by the Netherlands.  According to the substance evaluation conclusion and evaluation report, silver was originally selected for substance evaluation to clarify concerns about nanoparticles/ecotoxicity of different forms of the...

The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) published on January 14, 2019, a statement and a position paper on emerging health and environmental issues.  SCHEER identified and prioritized 14 emerging issues to bring to the attention of the EC services, including: Micro- and nano-plastic in the environment (priority is uncertain): Source: Urban and industrial wastewater.  Agricultural soils treated with...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) conducts up to three studies annually.  The studies are intended to address knowledge gaps relating to nanomaterials that are of interest to the general public and the research community.  EUON announced on January 14, 2019, that it is now looking for topic suggestions that could be addressed in its upcoming studies.  EUON is looking for studies that address: Questions relating to the health and safety of...

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on January 24, 2019, on “Nano in Business:  Commercialization of nanomaterials.”  This is the first webinar in NIA’s “Nano in Business” series, which is dedicated to the roadmap to commercial success for nanomaterials.  This includes not only the launch of companies, but also successfully bringing materials to market at a production volume that allows supply to match demand reliably.  The first webinar will focus...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) published on January 8, 2019, our “Forecast for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2019.”  In this richly detailed document, the legal, scientific, and regulatory professionals of B&C and Acta distill key trends in U.S. and global chemical law and provide our best informed judgment as to the shape of key developments we are likely to see in 2019.  This edition contains...

The December 2018 issue of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research includes an article entitled “A survey on the state of nanosafety research in the European Union and the United States.”  According to the abstract, the authors surveyed researchers in the field of environmental safety and health of nanomaterials between September 2017 and January 2018 to obtain a snapshot on the state of investigations.  The data received from 84 respondents provide information on exposure pathways,...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has posted the transcript for the October 30, 2018, webinar on its revised draft document entitled Current Intelligence Bulletin:  Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials.  As reported in our September 19, 2018, blog item, the revised draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) provides an updated scientific literature review of information pertaining to occupational exposure to silver nanomaterials....

In December 2018, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) published standard SO/TS 16195:2018, “Nanotechnologies — Specification for developing representative test materials consisting of nano-objects in dry powder form.”  The standard specifies development of representative test materials consisting of nano-objects in dry powder form to enable test method development and improve comparability of data for nanotechnology applications.  The standard specifies that for...

On December 7, 2018, the Occupational Cancer Research Center (OCRC) held a seminar on “Perspectives on Mitigating Exposures to Engineered Nanomaterials in the Workplace.”  The seminar was part of the Occupational and Environmental Health seminar series supported by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Public Health Ontario, OCRC, and the Center for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease.  Pat Rasmussen, Health Canada/University of Ottawa, gave the presentation, addressing:...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on December 7, 2018, withdrawing significant new use rules (SNUR) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 28 chemical substances, including single-walled carbon nanotubes, that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  As reported in our October 10, 2018, blog item, EPA issued the SNURs through a direct final rule on October 10, 2018.  EPA states that it...

The European Commission (EC) announced on December 3, 2018, that it adopted amendments to several Annexes of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation to clarify the information requirements for nanomaterials.  The EC notes that REACH “has always applied to nanomaterials, but did not contain specific provisions for them, which is why companies often did not know how to register these ‘substances in nanoform.’”...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish a Federal Register notice on December 4, 2018, withdrawing significant new use rules (SNUR) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 26 chemical substances, including carbon nanomaterial (generic), that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  As reported in our October 2, 2018, blog item, EPA issued the SNURs through a direct final rule on October 3, 2018.  EPA states that it received...

The Swedish National Platform for Nanosafety (SweNanoSafe) has posted a report on the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) November 8-9, 2018, workshop on the upcoming Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) information requirements for nanomaterials.  As reported in our April 26, 2018, blog item, the European Commission (EC) REACH Committee voted on April 26, 2018, to amend several REACH Annexes to clarify the registration requirements...

The European Union (EU) released the EU US Roadmap Nanoinformatics 2030 on November 15, 2018.  The Roadmap, developed by scientists from the EU, U.S., and a few other countries, is a compilation of state-of-the-art commentaries from multiple interconnecting scientific fields, combined with issues involving nanomaterial risk assessment and governance.  The Roadmap states that in bringing these issues together into a coherent set of milestones, the authors address three recognized challenges...

On November 7, 2018, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published the tenth revision of The SCCS Notes of Guidance for the Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients and Their Safety Evaluation.  The guidance contains relevant information on the different aspects of testing and safety evaluation of cosmetic substances in Europe.  The document states that it is designed to provide guidance to public authorities and to the cosmetic industry to...

On November 5, 2018, the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced the availability of the NANoREG Toolbox, an inventory of publicly available tools for the safety assessment of nanomaterials.  As reported in our October 5, 2017, blog item, JRC first published the inventory as a Microsoft Excel®-based dataset.  JRC scientists have now published an article, “An inventory of ready-to-use and publicly available tools for the safety assessment of nanomaterials,”...

On November 1, 2018, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) launched a podcast called All Things Chemical™ that will engage listeners in intelligent, insightful conversation about everything related to industrial, pesticidal, and specialty chemicals and the law and business issues surrounding chemicals.  B&C’s talented team of lawyers, scientists, and consultants will keep listeners abreast of the changing world of both domestic and international chemical regulation and...

On October 26, 2018, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published its final opinion on colloidal silver (nano).  According to the final opinion, the EC received 63 notifications of cosmetic products containing colloidal silver in nano form.  The final opinion states that, according to the applicants, the ingredient is used in nano uncoated form both in leave-on and rinse-off oral cosmetics products, including toothpastes and skin care products, with a...