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...
April 15, 2009
Australian Unions Call for Regulation of Nanomaterials
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...
On March 18, 2009, the European Union’s European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) announced the results of a report entitled Expert Forecast on Emerging Chemical Risks Related to Occupational Safety And Health. According to the Agency, “[c]ontact with a wide range of chemicals and other hazardous substances at work is endangering the health of workers across Europe, and nanotechnology is one of the risks causing most concern to experts from 21 European countries.” The...
On March 31, 2009, the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety amended and adopted a report on the regulatory aspects of nanomaterials. The January 2009 draft report was prepared by Swedish Green EP Member Carl Schlyter and urges tighter controls on nanotechnology. The report calls on the European Commission (EC) to review all relevant legislation to implement the principle “no data, no market” for all applications of nanomaterials in products...
April 2, 2009
NIOSH Publishes Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology
On March 30, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a document entitled Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology: Managing the Health and Safety Concerns Associated with Engineered Nanomaterials. The document reviews what is currently known about nanoparticle toxicity, process emissions and exposure assessment, engineering controls, and personal protective equipment. NIOSH released a draft version of the document for comment in October 2005, and then released a...
On March 27, 2009, Lloyd’s of London issued a news release entitled “Nanotechnology: Balancing Risk and Opportunity.” According to the news release, over the past 18 months, the Lloyd’s Emerging Risks team has been examining the potential threats associated with nanotechnology from an insurance perspective. The release states: “Like others in the insurance industry, Lloyd’s is alert to the potential for nano products to be associated with health and safety risks, whether...
On March 24, 2009, the European Parliament (EP) approved an update of European Union (EU) legislation on cosmetics. The new regulation is intended to remove legal uncertainties and inconsistencies, while increasing the safety of cosmetics. The regulation would replace 27 different regulations. The new regulation addresses nanomaterials used as cosmetics ingredients. As requested by the EP, the new regulation introduces a safety assessment procedure for all products containing nanomaterials,...
March 18, 2009
FDA Assessing Feasibility of Using Nanotechnology Test to Detect Anthrax Following a Bioterrorist Attack
On March 17, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has completed a “proof-of-concept” study of a test that “quickly and accurately detects the presence of even the smallest amount of the deadly anthrax toxin.” According to FDA, the proof-of-concept study relies on a nanotechnology-based test platform built from tiny molecular-sized particles. The europium nanoparticle-based immunoassay (ENIA) was able to detect the presence of a protein made by the...
March 12, 2009
FDA Announces Nanotechnology Collaboration
On March 10, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a collaboration with the Alliance for NanoHealth (ANH) and its members. According to FDA, the collaboration is intended to “help speed development of safe and effective medical products in the emerging field of nanotechnology.” Under a memorandum of understanding, FDA and ANH will work to increase the knowledge of how nanoparticles behave and affect biologic systems, and to facilitate the development of tests and...
On March 6, 2009, the United Kingdom (UK) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published an information sheet on the risk management of carbon nanotubes (CNT). According to HSE, the information sheet “is specifically about the manufacture and manipulation of carbon nanotubes and has been prepared in response to emerging evidence about the toxicology of these materials. However, the risk management principles detailed here are equally applicable to other nanodimensioned...
March 9, 2009
EFSA Publishes Opinion on the Potential Risks from Nanotechnologies Used on Food and Feed
On March 5, 2009, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a document entitled The Potential Risks Arising from Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies on Food and Feed Safety, which provides its scientific opinion on the potential risks arising from nanoscience and nanotechnologies on food and feed safety. EFSA’s Scientific Committee (SC) concluded that established international approaches to risk assessment can also be applied to engineered nanomaterials (ENM). The SC...
March 5, 2009
NIOSH Issues Update Regarding Paper on Issues in Developing Worker Epidemiological Studies Related to Engineered Nanoparticles
According to a February 27, 2009, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Update entitled “Issues in Developing Worker Epidemiological Studies Related to Engineered Nanoparticles Are Discussed in Paper,” NIOSH scientists and a colleague from Emory University have prepared a paper concerning issues that researchers will need to consider in designing sound epidemiological studies of workers who may be exposed to engineered nanoparticles in the manufacturing and commercial...
During the February 18, 2009, Food and Drug Law Institute’s Second Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation, and Policy, Dr. Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, Associate Center Director for Post-Market Operations at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), stated that FDA will not issue guidance until companies bring products to them so that FDA can learn more about the effects of nanotechnology. Sackner-Bernstein acknowledged that the...
February 26, 2009
NNCO Responds to NRC Report on Nanotechnology Research Strategy
On February 13, 2009, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) released a statement regarding the National Research Council’s (NRC) December 10, 2008, report regarding its review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research. According to the statement, NNI member agencies noted the report’s “substantial and important recommendations for further progress on EHS...
February 23, 2009
CDTSC Will Hold Nanotech III Symposium
On March 19, 2009, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) will hold a full-day nanotechnology symposium on nanomaterials regulation from a variety of perspectives. According to CDTSC, the symposium will focus on the regulatory aspects of nanotechnology, the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and CDTSC’s chemical information call-in program including nanoscale materials. CDTSC states that federal interest in...
February 20, 2009
EC Committee Adopts Opinion on Assessing the Risks of Nanotechnology
On February 18, 2009, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published its opinion on the most recent developments in the risk assessment of nanomaterials. In its opinion, SCENIHR indicates that methodologies to assess exposure to manufactured nanomaterials to humans and the environment and the identification of potential hazards require further development. For lack of a general approach, SCENIHR maintains its...
February 18, 2009
NIOSH Offers Interim Guidance For Worker Medical Screening, Hazard Surveillance Pertaining To Engineered Nanoparticles
On February 13, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of “Current Intelligence Bulletin 60: Interim Guidance for the Medical Screening and Hazard Surveillance for Workers Potentially Exposed to Engineered Nanoparticles.” NIOSH offers the following recommendations for workplaces where workers may be exposed to engineered nanoparticles in the course of their work: Take prudent measures to control exposures to engineered...