Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced that it will hold a conference entitled “Nanomaterials and Worker Health:  Medical Surveillance, Exposure Registries, and Epidemiologic Research,” on July 21-23, 2010, at the Keystone Resort and Conference Center in Keystone, Colorado. According to NIOSH, the goal of the conference is to identify gaps in information and address questions focusing on occupational health surveillance, exposure registries, and...

The Silver Nanotechnology Working Group (SNWG) issued a press release regarding its presentation to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) at its November 3-6, 2009, meeting. EPA asked the SAP “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” According to EPA, companies with an interest in marketing products that contain...

On November 13, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released two nanotechnology publications. NOISH posted a document entitled Progress Toward Safe Nanotechnology in the Workplace: A Report from the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center, Project Updates for 2007 and 2008. The Report updates the February 2007 version, which described the progress of the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) since its inception in 2004 through 2006. In the November...

On November 11, 2009, the European Commission (EC) began a public consultation to receive input from all people and organizations involved or interested in nanosciences and nanotechnologies research in Europe, including researchers, policy makers, industry, media, and civil society organizations. The EC adopted on February 7, 2008, a Recommendation for a Code of Conduct for Responsible Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies Research, followed on September 26, 2008, by Council Conclusions on...

On November 9, 2009, Australia announced the availability of a public discussion paper proposing to strengthen regulation of industrial nanomaterials used in Australia. The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) developed the proposal in conjunction with its Nanotechnology Advisory Group, which includes representatives from industry, the community, and research sectors. Major regulatory reforms would include:  refinement of pre-market assessment categories...

On November 10, 2009, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released findNano, an application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch that is intended to let users determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. According to PEN, the application allows users to browse an inventory of more than 1,000 nanotechnology-enabled consumer products, from sporting goods to food products and electronics to toys, using the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Using the built-in camera, iPhone...

On October 29, 2009, the European Commission (EC) adopted a Communication entitled Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: An Action Plan for Europe 2005-2009. Second Implementation Report 2007-2009. The Communication outlines the key developments during 2007-2009 in each policy area of the Nanotechnology Action Plan 2005-2009, identifies current challenges, and draws conclusions relevant to the future European nanotechnology policy. According to the Communication, the EC has...

On November 6, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for two chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). EPA identified the substances generically as multi-walled carbon nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes. According to the notice, these substances are subject to TSCA Section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. The consent orders...

On October 23, 2009, EHP-in-Press posted an article entitled “Evaluation of Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity in vivo Skin and in vitro Keratinocytes,” which assesses the potential cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles in human epidermal keratinocytes, and their inflammatory and penetrating potential into porcine skin in vivo. According to the article, silver nanoparticles are non-toxic when dosed in washed silver nanoparticle solutions or...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will stream its November 3-6, 2009, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting on the Internet. EPA has asked the SAP “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” According to EPA, companies with an interest in marketing products that...

In an October 9, 2009, speech at the stakeholder conference concerning nanomaterials on the market, Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment, stated that the European Commission (EC) “will review all relevant legislation within two years to ensure safety for all applications of nanomaterials in products with potential health, environmental, or safety impacts over their life cycle.” The EC’s review is in response to an April 24, 2009, resolution adopted...

On September 30, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the Nanomaterial Research Strategy (Strategy), which EPA describes as its new research strategy to understand better how manufactured nanomaterials may harm human health and the environment.  The Strategy outlines what research EPA intends to support over the next several years to generate information about the safe use of nanotechnology and products that contain nanoscale materials.  The...

On September 23, 2009, EHP-in-Press posted an article entitled “Potential for Occupational Exposure to Engineered Carbon-Based Nanomaterials in Environmental Laboratory Studies,” which states that laboratory workers may be at increased risk of exposure to engineered nanomaterials. The goal of the study was to assess the release of carbonaceous nanomaterials into the laboratory atmosphere during handling and sonication into environmentally-relevant matrices. The authors concluded that...

On September 23, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Technologies (PEN) hosted a meeting on “Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies.” The program is part of a collaborative research project involving experts from the London School of Economics (LSE), Chatham House, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and PEN. The project is funded by a grant from the European Commission to support pilot...

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) announced it will host the DTSC/California Nano-Industry Network Symposium, to be held November 16, 2009, in Sacramento, California. The Symposium, which is co-sponsored by the American Chemistry Council and Dupont, will use the DTSC’s nanotechnology data call-in as a backdrop. According to the preliminary agenda, the Symposium will feature two sessions. The first, entitled “Collaborative Efforts,” will discuss the key...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a September 16, 2009, Federal Register notice that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) will meet November 3-6, 2009, “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” Nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc SAP members for this meeting are...

The London School of Economics (LSE), Chatham House, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars held a conference on September 10-11, 2009, on “Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies,” in London. LSE, Chatham House, ELI, and PEN are participating in an international collaborative project, Regulating Nanotechnologies in the EU and U.S.,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the Interagency Nanotechnology Implications Grantees Workshop, which will feature presentations on recent research by EPA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH/NIEHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Department of Energy (DOE) grant researchers.  According to EPA, the November 9-10, 2009, meeting “will...

On August 25, 2009, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) held a public hearing to receive comments about its agenda and priorities for CPSC during fiscal year (FY) 2011, which begins October 1, 2010, and about its current strategic plan. CPSC invited participation by members of the public, and representatives from the Consumers Union, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), Thermo Fisher Scientific, National...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. is pleased to announce that Lynn L. Bergeson will be speaking at the September 10-11, 2009, international conference on “Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies,” in London. The London School of Economics, Chatham House, the Environmental Law Institute, and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars have spent the past year examining issues of...

Yesterday the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) announced that its inventory of nanotechnology-enabled consumer products includes over 1,000 items. When PEN began the inventory in March 2006, it included 212 products. According to PEN, health and fitness items represent 60 percent of the products listed. More products are based on nanoscale silver than any other nanomaterial, with 259 products (26 percent of the inventory) using...

On August 18, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released data showing that more than 1,200 companies, universities, government laboratories, and other organizations are involved in nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization. According to PEN, this is a 50 percent increase from the 800 organizations it identified two years ago. The data are part of PEN’s interactive map displaying the growing...

Today’s Federal Register includes a notice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrawing the June 24, 2009, final significant new use rules (SNUR) for multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT). EPA states that it published the final SNURs using direct final rulemaking procedures. Because EPA received a notice of intent to submit adverse comments on the rules, it is withdrawing the SNURs for CNTs. The Federal Register notice does not identify the...

The August 2009 issue of Nature Nanotechnology includes an article entitled “Essential Features for Proactive Risk Management,” written by Vladimir Murashov, Ph.D., Special Assistant to the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and John Howard, M.D., former NIOSH Director. The authors “propose a proactive approach to the management of occupational health risks in emerging technologies based on six features:  qualitative risk assessment; the...

The September 2009 issue of the European Respiratory Journal will contain a study entitled “Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma.”  The study examines the relationship between a group of workers presenting with “mysterious” symptomatic findings and their nanoparticle exposure. The authors conducted surveys of the workplace, made clinical observations, and examined the patients — seven young female workers (aged...

According to its website, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has joined the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health in inviting submission of scientific papers for a special issue of the Journal. The special edition is provisionally entitled “Human and Environmental Exposure Assessment for Nanomaterials,” and will be edited by Vladimir Murashov, Ph.D., a special assistant to the NIOSH Director. Submissions are due January 15,...

In an August 7, 2009, letter to the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP), the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) expressed its interest in working with OSTP and other federal agencies regarding the “human health and ecological impacts and lifecycle consequences of intentional and unintentional releases of engineered nanoparticles into the environment.” According to ECOS, state environmental agencies want to participate in national efforts to develop best...

In a notice in the August 4, 2009, Federal Register, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) released its latest report to the Administrator. Under TSCA Section 4(e), the ITC is required ‘‘to make recommendations to the Administrator respecting the chemical substances and mixtures to which the Administrator should give priority consideration for the promulgation of rules for testing.” According to the report, “the ITC has no...

The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering released on July 29, 2004, their report entitled Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies:  Opportunities and Uncertainties. To mark the five-year anniversary of the report, The Responsible Nano Forum invited representatives from science, risk, investment, non-governmental organizations (NGO), unions, business, and consumer groups to reflect on the legacy of the report and what still remains to be done. The report, A Beacon or Just a Landmark?...

On July 29, 2009, Particle and Fibre Toxicology posted an article entitled “Maternal Exposure to Nanoparticulate Titanium Dioxide During the Prenatal Period Alters Gene Expression Related to Brain Development in the Mouse.” The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to nano-sized anatase titanium dioxide on gene expression in the brain during the developmental period. According to the authors, analysis of gene expression indicated that expression levels...

On July 28, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clarified its June 24, 2009, final Significant New Use Rules (SNUR) for multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT).  According to EPA, upon review of the final rule, stakeholders asked whether the SNURs applied to all types of CNTs.  EPA responded: This is not the case.  These SNURs only apply to the specific carbon nanotubes that were the subject of the premanufacture notices (PMN)...

Earlier this month, in advance of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) July 15-17, 2009, Conference on Potential Environmental Benefits of Nanotechnology: Fostering Safe Innovation-Led Growth, the Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration (ETC Group) issued a draft report entitled Nanogeopolitics 2009:  The Second Survey.  ETC Group recommends that policies concerning nanotechnologies be developed within the United Nations (UN) system, “where...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has posted a link to an article entitled “National Nanotechnology Partnership to Protect Workers,” which proposes the creation of a National Nanotechnology Partnership led by NIOSH. The article, posted online on July 7, 2009, by the Journal of Nanoparticle Research, suggests the partnership be a collaboration of government agencies, manufacturers, users, and others. The authors are John Howard, M.D. former NIOSH Director,...

On July 15, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced plans to hold a conference entitled “Nanomaterials and Worker Health:  Occupational Health Surveillance, Exposure Registries, and Epidemiological Research.” The conference is intended to identify gaps in information about potential occupational health effects of nanomaterials, as well as address questions related to occupational health and safety. According to NIOSH’s website, the...

On July 8, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) announced the availability of an article entitled Nanotechnology and In situ Remediation: A review of the benefits and potential risks, which discusses the use of nanomaterials in the environmental cleanup process. According to the article, nanomaterials have the potential to reduce the costs and time of cleaning up contaminated sites, as well as eliminate the need for treatment...

On June 16, 2009, the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) released a report entitled Bridging the Credibility Gap:  Eight Corporate Liability Accounting Loopholes that Regulators Must Close, which discusses the effect of undisclosed potential and pending liabilities on investors. The report identifies eight regulatory loopholes that businesses could use to hide future liabilities from an investor’s risk assessment. Two case studies for asbestos and nanomaterials...

On June 25, 2009, the Norwegian Board of Technology announced that the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) has established “a scheme for Norwegian businesses to report their use of nanomaterials in chemical products.”  According to a spokesperson for the Board, until now the Norwegian market has “lacked oversight of nanomaterials.”  Under the scheme, information about nanomaterials in chemical products will be incorporated as a separate topic in declarations to the...

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) announced June 19, 2009, the publication of the Literature Review — Workplace Exposure to Nanoparticles, which reviews the most recent publications on nanoparticles and focuses on the possible adverse health effects of workplace exposure. The report focuses on the possible adverse health effects of workplace exposure to engineered nanomaterials and possible subsequent activities taken to manage the risk. The report does...

According to a June 8, 2009, article, Dr. Annette McCarthy of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition stated on June 6, 2009, at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting that the “regulatory authority is sufficient to address nanotechnology but there are further questions.” McCarthy recommended that petitions to the FDA seeking acceptance of a nanotech food additive or coloring should address its “impact on identity and...

On June 2, 2009, the United Kingdom (UK) released its response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) Report entitled Novel Materials in the Environment: The Case of Nanotechnology. The RCEP looked at the properties of nanomaterials and the potential pathways by which they could enter and present potential hazards to the environment and people. The UK states that it shares RCEP’s “understanding that there is no evidence of actual harm resulting from the use of...

On May 28, 2009, during the Helsinki Chemicals Forum organized by the European Commission (EC) and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), governmental spokespersons said that the way the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) program applies to nanoscale substances is being reconsidered. ECHA Executive Director Geert Dancet stated that specific regulation of nanomaterials could be considered when the EC reviews REACH, which it is required to do by June 1,...

According to a notice in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) May 11, 2009, Regulatory Agenda, a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 4(a) test rule “may be needed to determine the health effects” of multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT). EPA states that the results of the tests that could be required under the rule could assist in understanding the health effects of the substance to manage/minimize any potential risk and exposure. Results could also help with...

During the June 29-July 1, 2009, meeting of the United Nations (UN) Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Substances (GHS), the Committee will discuss a paper entitled “Ongoing Work on the Safety of Nanomaterials.” The paper provides a summary of current activities by the European Union (EU), including the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) program,...

On April 28, 2009, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology, which calls for the creation of the Department of Environmental and Consumer Protection, which would oversee product regulation, pollution control and monitoring, and technology assessment. According to report author J. Clarence Davies, Ph.D., the agency would be primarily a scientific agency with a strong...

We are pleased to announce that Lynn L. Bergeson is included in the Nanotechnology Law & Business list of the top ten experts in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) issues related to engineered nanomaterials. Nanotechnology Law & Business states that they chose ten individuals with “substantial expertise” in EHS issues related to engineered nanomaterials and that they “expect these individuals to play leading roles in nanotechnology law and business.” Nanotechnology...

The European Commission (EC) will hold a scientific hearing on nanotechnology on September 10, 2009. The hearing will focus on the scientific aspects of the issues covered in the nanotechnology opinions issued by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) and the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) (which is now replaced by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS)). To prepare for the hearing, the EC is launching...

In an April 24, 2009, press release, the European Parliament (EP) calls for the provision of information to consumers on the use of nanomaterials in consumer products. According to the EP, all ingredients present in the form of nanomaterials in substances, mixtures, or articles should be clearly indicated in the product labeling. The press release also specifically calls for the European Commission (EC) to evaluate the need to review the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and...

On April 14, 2009, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) issued a press release entitled “Nanotech Poses Possible Health and Safety Risk to Workers and Needs Regulation.” According to ACTU, “[t]he rapidly growing nanotechnology market in Australia requires urgent regulation to protect the health and safety of workers and consumers.” ACTU notes that, currently, there is no mandatory register in Australia of who is importing, manufacturing, supplying, or selling...

On April 8, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice announcing that it “intends to evaluate the scientific data on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and develop appropriate communication documents, such as an Alert and/or Current Intelligence Bulletin [CIB], which will convey the potential health risks and recommend measures for the safe handling of these materials.” CIBs are issued by NIOSH “to disseminate new...

On March 31, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the funding opportunity for its joint U.S. — United Kingdom (UK) Research Program: Environmental Behavior, Bioavailability, and Effects of Manufactured Nanomaterials. EPA states that the outputs of the Program will be used to further scientific understanding of the fate, behavior, bioavailability, and effects of nanomaterials and risk management policy development. Two consortia, made up of UK and U.S. research...