Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a July 4, 2018, report entitled Investigating the Different Types of Risk Assessments of Manufactured Nanomaterials:  Identifying Tools Available for Risk Management Measures and Uncertainties Driving Nano-Specific Data Needs.  The report presents the findings from a survey conducted in 2016 that aimed at investigating the different types of risk assessment.  The survey was conducted to gather the...

The NanoSafety Cluster announced that its projects NanoReg2 and Gracious, which focus on grouping, have come together with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party for Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) to host a two-day conference in Paris on September 12-13, 2018.  The “Scientific workshop on Grouping of Nanomaterials” will immediately follow the September 11, 2018, WPMN meeting on physico-chemical parameters framework for the risk...

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a July 4, 2018, press release announcing the availability of new guidance on how to assess the safety of nanoscience and nanotechnology applications.  The guidance covers novel foods, food contact materials, food and feed additives, and pesticides, taking into account new developments that have taken place since publication of the previous guidance in 2011.  Potential future developments suggested in the scientific literature...

The European Commission (EC) announced on June 15, 2018, that researchers from the European Union (EU)-funded NANOPACK project found a solution for extending food shelf-life by using smart antimicrobial surfaces applied to active food packaging.  According to the EC, the researchers are now running five pilot production runs of the new polymer composite, based on tiny nanotube formations, to test its technical, industrial, and commercial viability.  The researchers “form...

NanoMONITOR announced on June 25, 2018, that the NanoMONITOR Monitoring Station is available upon request to use in facilities to obtain robust data on the concentration of engineered nanomaterials.  NanoMONITOR’s brochure states that access is provided on a transnational basis with no charge to the user.  According to NanoMONITOR, by developing a real-time information and monitoring system, NanoMONITOR supports the risk assessment of nanomaterials under the...

On June 25, 2018, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published its final opinion on 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 applicants, the ingredients are used in nano-coated form in leave-on cosmetic products with maximum reported concentration limits of 0.06 percent. ...

The “2nd Quantifying Exposure to Engineered Nanomaterials from Manufactured Products (QEEN II) Workshop” will be held October 9-10, 2018, in Washington, D.C.  Sponsored by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and co-hosted by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), the Workshop will highlight new research on the tools and methods available to characterize and quantify effective population exposures, as well as the presence and release potential of...

On June 11, 2018, the European Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced that its website now features the following two searchable databases, NanoData and eNanoMapper: NanoData: Contains data on different products, research projects, publications, patents, and companies, and helps users to visualize statistics through built-in charts and graphs.  The data can also be filtered by different sectors and geographic location.  The database can be used for example by...

As reported in our June 7, 2018, memorandum, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) on June 6, 2018, released its final policy and form for manufacturer disclosures under the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program.  The Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program requires manufacturers of cleaning products sold in New York to disclose chemical ingredients and identify any ingredients that appear on authoritative...

In June 2018, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) published standard ISO/TS 21362:2018, “Nanotechnologies — Analysis of nano-objects using asymmetrical-flow and centrifugal field-flow fractionation.”  The document identifies parameters and conditions, as part of an integrated measurement system, necessary to develop and validate methods for the application of asymmetrical-flow and centrifugal field-flow fractionation to the analysis of nano-objects and their...