Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

On March 5, 2018, the European Commission (EC) announced the availability of a Communication to the European Parliament (EP), the Council of the European Union (EU), and the European Economic and Social Committee on the operation of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation.  The Communication includes proposals intended to facilitate further the implementation of REACH.  The scope of the EC’s evaluation includes a...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a Federal Register notice on March 1, 2018, announcing that it will hold a public hearing on April 11, 2018, to receive comments about CPSC’s agenda and priorities for fiscal years (FY) 2019-2020.  CPSC’s Fiscal Year 2019 Performance Budget Request to Congress states that CPSC “will continue supporting nanotechnology research, coordinating with other federal agencies to extend limited...

On March 2, 2018, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) began a public consultation on its preliminary opinion on certain styrene/acrylates copolymer (nano) and sodium styrene/acrylates copolymer (nano).  The EC received eight notifications of cosmetic ingredients containing the copolymers in nano forms.  According to the preliminary opinion, the EC has concerns over the safety of the use of sodium styrene/acrylates copolymer (nano) and...

On March 1, 2018, amendments to Switzerland’s Chemicals Ordinance took effect.  The amendments, adopted by the Federal Council on January 31, 2018, include new disclosure requirements for synthetic nanomaterials of fibrous or tubular form.  Switzerland states that the specified nanomaterials can cause lesions in the lungs if inhaled.  As reported in our September 29, 2017, blog item, Switzerland notified the European Commission of the draft amendment in September...

On February 26, 2018, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) issued a call for study topics on nanomaterials.  EUON states that it intends to conduct up to three studies annually to address knowledge gaps about nanomaterials on the EU market.  The studies should be considered of interest for either a specific audience, such as regulators or researchers, but can also be for a wider use such as the general public.  Proposals should address an...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget proposal on February 12, 2018.  According to EPA’s press release, the proposed budget will provide $6.146 billion to support EPA’s new FY 2018-2022 Strategic Plan and mission of protecting human health and the environment.  EPA states that the “Back-to-Basic” agenda set out in the Strategic Plan has three over-arching goals reflecting EPA Administrator...

On March 20, 2018, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) will meet at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.  The focus of the meeting will be to consider the observations from the February 28, 2017, ANSI-NSP meeting on graphene standards, including the following issues: Terminology; Characterization methods; and Information sharing. Participants will discuss recommendations for future standardization...

On February 12, 2018, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted its Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Performance Report.  According to the Report, in fiscal year (FY) 2017, CPSC exceeded its target of five collaborations by establishing seven research collaborations on the environmental health and safety of nanomaterials.  The collaborations “will increase knowledge of the potential exposure to consumers from products that contain nanomaterials and explore methods to...

The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) has opened a call to access its Nanobiotechnology Laboratory.  The Nanobiotechnology Laboratory features state-of-the-art equipped facilities designed to foster interdisciplinary studies, with a special emphasis on the characterization of nanomaterials, nanomedicines, advanced materials and their interactions with biological systems, as well as on the detection, identification, and characterization of nanomaterials in food...

UFC-Que Choisir, a French non-governmental organization (NGO), announced on January 23, 2018, that it filed complaints against nine manufacturers of food and cosmetic products for failure to comply with the requirement to report the presence of nanomaterials on the product label.  UFC-Que Choisir states that its analysis covered 20 consumer products (seven food products, nine cosmetics, and four drugs) and targeted titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, iron oxide, zinc oxide, and carbon black. ...

On March 7, 2018, the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on “Nanomedicine:  Diagnostics and therapeutics advancing through nanotechnology.”  The webinar will focus on the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of nanotechnology, with the agenda including: Regulatory landscape in Europe and beyond for nanomaterials in healthcare applications; and Industry developments within nanomedicine from NIA Members: Endomag — A United Kingdom/U.S. small- or...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice on January 31, 2018, announcing the availability of the final National Occupational Research Agenda for Manufacturing.  NIOSH states that the National Occupational Research Agenda for Manufacturing “is intended to identify the knowledge and actions most urgently needed to identify occupational risk factors to prevent avoidable adverse health outcomes among...

As reported in our June 19, 2017, blog item, the European Commission (EC) published a catalog of nanomaterials used in cosmetic products on the European Union (EU) market.  On February 5, 2018, the European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a table linking nanomaterials listed in the catalog to their Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registration data in the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA)...

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavorings, and Processing Aids evaluated food contact material (FCM) Substance No. 1070, which incorporates selenium nanoparticles into the adhesive middle layer of multilayer laminates with an outside polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer and an inner polyolefin (food contact) layer.  The results of the Panel’s evaluation are published in the January 2018 issue of the EFSA Journal in an...

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances (TLV®-CS) Committee has included carbon nanotubes on its 2018 list of chemical substances and other issues under study.  Being placed on the under study list indicates that the TLV®-CS Committee has selected carbon nanotubes for development of a threshold limit value (TLV®).  ACGIH® describes TLVs® as health-based values representing the...

Belgium published in the January 15, 2018, Official Gazette an amendment to the Royal Decree regarding the placement on the market of substances manufactured at the nanoscale.  Under the amendment, cosmetic products as defined by the July 2012 Belgian Royal Decree on cosmetic products are exempt from registration, and provisions regarding the registration of mixtures entered into force on January 1, 2018.  As reported in our October 27, 2014, blog item, substances defined as...

The European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published on January 24, 2018, its final opinion on titanium dioxide (nano form) as an ultraviolet (UV)-filter in sprays.  The EC asked SCCS to address the following questions: In light of the data provided, does SCCS consider titanium dioxide (nano) safe when used as a UV-filter in sunscreens and personal care spray products at a concentration up to 5.5 percent; and Does SCCS have any further scientific...

The Office of Science and Technology Policy published a Federal Register notice on January 23, 2018, announcing that the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), on behalf of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), “will facilitate stakeholder discussion of targeted nanotechnology topics through workshops, webinars, and Community of Interest meetings between...

During its December 14-15, 2017, meeting, the Management Board of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) discussed ECHA’s strategy on substances in nanoforms.  According to the strategy, following recent rulings of the Board of Appeal, the “possibility for using dossier and substance evaluation under the current legal text of [the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation] to verify safe use of nanomaterials on the EU market has become...

Charles Geraci, PhD, CIH, FAIHA, Associate Director for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Laura Hodson, MSPH, CIH, FAIHA, Coordinator of the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center, co-authored an article entitled “From ‘Just in Time’ to ‘Just Next Door’:  21st-century Manufacturing Challenges and Opportunities for Industrial Hygienists.”  The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) published...