Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

In October 2017, the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Research and Innovation published a report entitled An ecosystem to accelerate the uptake of innovation in materials technology:  Report by the High Level Group of EU Member States and Associated Countries on Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies and Advanced Materials.  The High Level Group of European Union (EU) Member States and Associated Countries on Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies and Advanced Materials examined the barriers...

As reported in our October 11, 2017, blog item, on October 9, 2017, the European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on a draft regulation that would amend Annexes I, III, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation to address nanoforms of substances.  Comments were due November 6, 2017.  The EC has posted the comments online.  In all, 36 comments were...

On November 30, 2017, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will hold a webinar to explain the support documentation available for registrants that cover nanoforms in their Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) registration dossier.  ECHA states that the main focus will be on the registration and read-across of nanoforms, but the webinar will also cover updates for information requirements for human health and the environment.  According to the agenda,...

In October 2017, the presentations and report for the June 20, 2017, Second European Conference on “Standardization for Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials:  Reliable data for an effective management of nanomaterials” were posted.  The European Committee for Standardization (CEN)/Technical Committee (TC) 352 “Nanotechnologies,” together with the CEN-European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) Management Center, the European Commission (EC), and the European...

Nanotechnology The National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSE) grantees conference on progress in nanotechnology will be held December 12-13, 2017.  The conference will highlight the research and education activities of ongoing NSE grant projects.  It will include a combination of keynotes, panels, posters, program information sessions, discussions of research trends, and principal investigator meetings with NSF program directors.  The...

On September 26-27, 2017, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) held an Expert Dialogue regarding the opportunities and risks of the application of nanotechnologies in the automotive sector.  The Expert Dialogue provided an overview of current and future applications of nanomaterials in automobiles.  A number of the presentations are available online, in German.  Since 2006, the NanoDialogue has been conducted as part of the German...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will have six sessions at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe, which will be held May 13-17, 2018, in Rome, Italy.  ECHA’s sessions will include one on recent developments in regulatory science and environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials.  To support the session, ECHA welcomes abstracts on experience gained in environmental hazard and risk assessment of nanomaterials illustrated by case studies.  Presentations...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a November 7, 2017, report entitled Consumer and Environmental Exposure to Manufactured Nanomaterials — Information used to characterize exposures:  Analysis of a Survey.  The report provides a “light analysis” of the results of a Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) survey on consumer and environmental exposures to manufactured nanomaterials.  The survey, initiated in 2015, was designed...

On October 12, 2017, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published questions and answers (Q&A) regarding a study on whether nanometric pigments from tattoo inks can permanently accumulate in lymph nodes.  BfR states that by using X-rays from a particle accelerator in Grenoble, it discovered where the pigments accumulate in the tissue.  According to BfR, until now, the accumulation of pigments from tattooed persons has been known by optical coloring of the lymph nodes...

On October 5, 2017, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) published a POSTnote entitled “Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials.”  According to POST, key points include: Nanomaterial uses and benefits are diverse and increasing, such as in cosmetics, textiles, electronics, and medicine; Current regulatory frameworks applicable to nanomaterials within the UK are mainly set at the European Union (EU) level; There are some indications of potential...