On October 30, 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) held a webinar on its revised draft document entitled Current Intelligence Bulletin: Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials. The meeting agenda and slide presentation are available in the docket, as well as a list of meeting attendees. As reported in our September 19, 2018, blog item, the revised draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) provides an updated scientific...
October 31, 2018
JRC Posts Report on Workshop on Regulatory Preparedness for Innovation in Nanotechnology
The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) posted a report on the October 5-6, 2017, “NanoReg2 Regulatory Preparedness for Innovation in Nanotechnology Workshop.” Regulatory preparedness was defined at the workshop as the regulators’ timely awareness of innovations and the regulators’ actions to check whether present legislation covers all safety aspects of each innovation, including initiating revision of the legislation as appropriate. Achieving...
October 30, 2018
JRC Announces New Standardized Nanomaterial Environmental Toxicity Screening Testing Procedure
The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced publication of a paper introducing a new standardized testing procedure for nanomaterial environmental toxicity, “Introducing a new standardized nanomaterial environmental toxicity screening testing procedure, ISO/TS 20787: aquatic toxicity assessment of manufactured nanomaterials in saltwater lakes using Artemia sp. nauplii.” The abstract states that the testing procedure is intended to generate more reliable and...
In August 2018, Safe Work Australia (SWA) issued a national guide on classifying hazardous chemicals. SWA intends the guidance for manufacturers and importers of substances, mixtures, and articles who have a duty under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act and Regulations to classify them. SWA suggests that the guidance may also be useful for suppliers, persons undertaking business and undertakings, workers, and other persons involved with hazardous chemicals. The guidance...
October 26, 2018
OIRA Seeks Comment on How to Reduce Regulatory Differences between the U.S. and Canada, Including for Emerging Technologies Not Yet Regulated
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) published a request for information (RFI) on October 9, 2018, seeking comment on how the federal government, under the auspices of the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC), may reduce or eliminate unnecessary regulatory differences between the U.S. and Canada. According to the RFI, this information may inform agencies’ development of regulatory reform proposals to modify or repeal existing agency requirements to increase efficiency...
October 23, 2018
EPA Posts Final Work Plan for Nanosilver Registration Review Process
On October 19, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted the Final Work Plan (FWP) for the nanosilver registration review process under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The FWP explains what the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) “knows about nanosilver generally, highlighting anticipated data and assessment needs for each unique nanosilver chemistry, identifying the types of information that would be especially useful to the Agency...
October 19, 2018
NNI Publishes Key Takeaways and Transcript for Webinar on Technology Pathways Toward Commercializing Nanotechnology
The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has published key takeaways and a transcript for the September 19, 2018, webinar, “Technology Pathways Toward Commercializing Nanotechnology.” The webinar focused on quality control in the manufacturing process and built on NNI’s November 2017 Technology Pathways workshop. Webinar panelists Katherine Barton, Laboratory and Production Manager at Nano-C, and Doug Singer, Executive Vice President in Charge of Manufacturing,...
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) announced on October 5, 2018, that the NanoReg2 project, of which NIA is a partner, has published a comprehensive review of European Union (EU) legislation addressing chemical substances and the potential for grouping and read across in nanomaterials. The article, “Insights into possibilities for grouping and read-across for nanomaterials in EU chemicals legislation,” considers both the overarching regulation of chemical substances under the...
October 15, 2018
Berlin Declaration on Nanomaterials Submitted to Environment Council of the Council of the EU
The Environment Council of the Council of the European Union (EU) met on October 9, 2018. According to the outcome of the Council meeting, the items debated under any other business included the “Berlin Declaration” on nanomaterials, submitted by the German delegation and supported by the French and Luxembourg delegations. The Berlin Declaration summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of the 12th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue of Germany, Liechtenstein,...
On October 3, 2018, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) published an info sheet on “Manufactured nanomaterials in the workplace.” According to the info sheet, “[t]he requirements for managing nanomaterials in the workplace are the same as those for managing other hazardous chemicals, including the provision of information and training for workers, carrying out risk assessments and taking action to ensure a safe workplace.” The prerequisites for...
October 11, 2018
Germany Publishes Study on Health Effects of Ultrafine Particles
The German Environment Agency (UBA) in October 2018 published a study entitled Health Effects of Ultrafine Particles: Systematic literature search and the potential transferability of the results to the German setting. The study notes that ultrafine particles represent the smallest size fractions of particles with sizes from one to about 100 nanometers in aerodynamic diameter. Their specific health effects are thus related to their physical capacity to reach diverse organ...
October 10, 2018
EPA Will Publish SNUR for Carbon Nanomaterial (Generic)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish on October 3, 2018, a direct final rule promulgating significant new use rules (SNUR) for 26 chemical substances, including carbon nanomaterial (generic), that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). The chemical substances are subject to orders issued by EPA pursuant to Sections 5(e) and 5(f) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The direct final rule requires persons who intend to...
October 10, 2018
EPA Publishes SNUR for Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on October 10, 2018, a direct final rule promulgating significant new use rules (SNUR) for 28 chemical substances, including single-walled carbon nanotubes, that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). The chemical substances are subject to orders issued by EPA pursuant to Section 5(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The direct final rule requires persons who intend to manufacture...
On September 12-13, 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), NanoReg2, and GRACIOUS hosted a “Scientific Workshop: Grouping of Nanomaterials.” The Workshop brought together 120 nanotechnology specialists from Europe, North America, and Asia to discuss a bottleneck in nanomaterials development and testing. The agenda and the following slides from the workshop have been posted online: Welcome slides. Session 1: Nanomaterial Grouping: ...
September 27, 2018
Nanotechnology Industries Association Will Hold Open Webinar on Regulatory Priorities
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) published an open newsletter on September 19, 2018, that includes an invitation to NIA’s October 11, 2018, open webinar on regulatory priorities. The open webinar will cover the latest news on the nanomaterials definition, amendments to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Annexes, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Malta project, and the latest news on nanowaste...
September 25, 2018
OECD Publishes Case Study on Grouping and Read-Across for the Genotoxicity of Nano Titanium Dioxide
On September 21, 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced four new case studies on integrated approaches for testing and assessment (IATA), including a Case Study on Grouping and Read-Across for Nanomaterials — Genotoxicity of Nano-TiO2. The European Union (EU) Joint Research Center (JRC) developed the case study for the genotoxicity of nano-titanium dioxide (TiO2) for illustrating the practical use of IATA. The case study applies the...
September 24, 2018
CPSC’s FY 2019 Operating Plan Includes Collaborative Nanotechnology Research Activities
On September 26, 2018, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will discuss the Fiscal Year 2019 Operating Plan. According to the Operating Plan, in fiscal year (FY) 2019, CPSC will continue supporting nanotechnology research and working with other federal agencies under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to minimize duplication and overlap of existing research efforts. CPSC will undertake the following collaborative research activities:...
September 20, 2018
Germany Publishes Comparison of Inhalation and Intratracheal Instillation as Testing Methods for Characterization of Granular Biopersistent Particles
Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) has published a report entitled Comparison of Inhalation and Intratracheal Instillation as Testing Methods for Characterisation of Granular Biopersistent Particles (GBP). In Project F 2364, researchers conducted an in vivo validation study to evaluate the consistency of data with results obtained in the preceding intratracheal instillation study in Project F 2336. The abstract states that the same...
September 19, 2018
NIOSH Publishes Revised Draft CIB on Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials, Will Hold Online Meeting
On September 18, 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of a draft document entitled Current Intelligence Bulletin: Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials. As reported in our January 22, 2016, blog item, NIOSH published a draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) on silver nanomaterials on January 21, 2016. According to the...
September 18, 2018
EC Publishes Success Story on Controlling Light at the Nanoscale Thanks to Graphene
The European Commission (EC) has published a success story, “Controlling light at the nanoscale thanks to graphene.” The EC notes graphene, “an atomically thin lattice of carbon, has many exceptional properties.” A European Union (EU)-funded project is focusing on the unique capabilities of graphene plasmons to transport and control light emissions at spatial scales far smaller than their wavelength. They can be exploited in numerous applications, including for infrared biosensing...