Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) recently published a report, in English, entitled An Assessment of Methods of Sampling and Characterizing Engineered Nanomaterials in the Air and on Surfaces in the Workplace.  As reported in our March 29, 2017, blog item, IRSST first published the report in French.  The research project has two complementary parts:  a laboratory investigation and a fieldwork component.  The...

The 12th International Nano-Authorities Dialogue was held in Germany on June 7-8, 2018.  According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), environmental, health, and occupational safety authorities, as well as industry, science, and civil society organizations from Germany, Austria, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, discussed current topics in the area of nano governance.  Meeting participants evaluated the state of play of nano...

In July 2018, the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences published an English version of Dossier No. 49, “Nanotechnological Applications for Food Contact Materials.”  The Dossier concludes that nanomaterials can significantly improve the properties of plastic materials, making nanocomposites “increasingly interesting for manufacturers, especially for food packaging.”  Nanomaterials used in food contact materials (FCM) in the European Union (EU)...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has published The National Nanotechnology Initiative Supplement to the President’s 2019 Budget.  The August 2018 document not only supplements the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2019, but also serves as NNI’s annual report and addresses the requirement for Department of Defense (DOD) reporting on its nanotechnology investments.  President Trump requests nearly $1.4 billion for NNI, “a continued investment in...

According to the Summer 2018 edition of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office’s (NNCO) quarterly newsletter, in 2018, NNCO will focus on two of its primary responsibilities — providing public outreach and promoting commercialization of nanotechnology.  NNCO states that its activities “will build upon and expand efforts to tell the stories” from the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), and to support the nanotechnology community by facilitating networks, promoting access...

The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center has published a Technical Report entitled Mapping Nanomedicine Terminology in the Regulatory Landscape.  According to the abstract, to support a better understanding of terms used in the regulatory domain, the Nanomedicines Working Group of the International Pharmaceutical Regulators Forum (IPRF) prioritized the need to map, compile, and discuss the currently used terminology of regulatory scientists coming from different geographic...

Registration has opened for an August 20, 2018, webinar on “NanoEHS and Nanomedicine:  Similarities and Synergisms.”  The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) notes that there are many synergies between nanomedicine research, which addresses (among other topics) issues of efficacy and safety, and studies on the environmental, health, and safety effects of nanomaterials (nanoEHS), which include the exploration of potential toxicity and exposures.  Research in these...

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has published an August 2018 fact sheet, in German, regarding the use of nanomaterials in plastic packaging.  The fact sheet addresses nanomaterials that promise new, technical, or improved packaging properties.  According to UBA, the nanomaterials used for labeling and surface coating of packaging are partly the same as those used in (printing) paints and varnishes.  Because most of the potential use of nanomaterials in packaging lies in...

The July 2018 issue of the EFSA Journal includes an article entitled “Evaluation of four new studies on the potential toxicity of titanium dioxide used as a food additive (E 171).”  The European Commission (EC) asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to carry out a scientific evaluation on four studies on the potential toxicity of titanium dioxide used as a food additive (E 171) and to indicate whether they would merit re-opening EFSA’s 2016 opinion on the safety of titanium...

On July 30, 2018, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) announced the reappointment of Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf as its Director and the appointment of Dr. Stacey Standridge as its Deputy Director.  NNCO is a federal interagency coordinating office that serves as a central point of contact for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and supports the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology...