The Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and the Sea has posted a report, available only in French, entitled Éléments issus des déclarations des substances à l’état nanoparticulaire: Rapport d’etude 2015. The report analyzes nanomaterial registrations received in 2015 for reporting year 2014. Under Decree No. 2012-232, companies that manufacture, import, and/or distribute a “substance with nanoparticle status” in an amount of at least 100 grams per year must submit an annual...
March 2, 2016
OECD Publishes Reports on Physical-Chemical Properties and Categorization of Nanomaterials
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published the following reports: Physical-chemical properties of nanomaterials: Evaluation of methods applied in the OECD-WPMN testing programme: The Netherlands volunteered to lead an initial detailed evaluation of the applicability of the test methods applied to determine the physico-chemical properties of different types of nanomaterials in the Testing Program. The evaluated dossiers include information on...
February 26, 2016
Danish EPA Assesses Nano-Enabled Technologies in Cosmetics
On February 16, 2016, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Danish EPA) posted a report entitled Assessment of Nano-enabled Technologies in Cosmetics. The report reviews the available literature on nano-enabled technologies for cosmetic products, specifically addressing soluble nano-transporters. Accompanying the report is an appraised database summarizing the literature that formed the basis of the review. The database addresses the following areas: types and...
February 25, 2016
OECD Claims Urgent Research Needed into Risks from Nanomaterials in Household Waste
According to a February 22, 2016, press release from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an OECD report states that “[u]rgent research is needed to assess the possible risks to human health and ecosystems from the ever-increasing amounts of engineered nanomaterials going into household waste and ending up in the environment.” The OECD report, Nanomaterials in Waste Streams: Current Knowledge on Risks and Impacts, states that engineered...
On January 25, 2016, the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) published a report that describes the content of a computer program that can be used for a risk assessment. According to RIVM, the NanoCosmetics tool will need to cover all aspects of the risk assessment, including: the physicochemical characterization of the nanomaterials; the estimation of the consumer exposure; the possible hazards (toxicity) induced by the nanomaterials; and the risk...
February 19, 2016
EFSA Begins Public Consultation on Draft Guidance on the Preparation and Presentation of an Application for Authorization of a Novel Food
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has begun a public consultation on its draft guidance on the preparation and presentation of an application for authorization of a novel food. As reported in our December 22, 2015, blog item, the European Commission (EC) promulgated a final novel foods regulation in December 2015. Under the regulation, food consisting of engineered nanomaterials should be considered a novel food. EFSA intends the draft document to provide guidance on the data needed...
February 11, 2016
NIOSH Extends Comment Period on Draft CIB on Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials
On February 10, 2016, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice extending the comment period on the draft NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin: Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Silver Nanomaterials. As reported in our January 22, 2016, blog item, the draft Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) includes a review and assessment of the currently available scientific literature on the toxicological effects of exposure to...
February 6, 2016
EC Publishes Inception Impact Assessment Concerning Possible REACH Annex Amendments for Registration of Nanomaterials
On February 2, 2016, the European Commission (EC) published an inception impact assessment concerning “Possible amendments of Annexes to REACH for registration of nanomaterials.” According to the inception impact assessment, the EC identified a need for more specific requirements for nanomaterials to ensure further clarity on how nanomaterials are addressed and safety demonstrated in registration dossiers to attain the aims of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and...
February 3, 2016
OSTP Seeks Nanotechnology Commercialization Success Stories
On February 2, 2016, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published in the Federal Register a request for information (RFI) seeking examples of commercialization success stories stemming from U.S. government-funded nanotechnology research and development (R&D) since the inception of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in 2001. OSTP states that the information gathered in response to this RFI may be used as examples to highlight the NNI’s...
February 2, 2016
OECD Publishes Reports Concerning Nanomaterials
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has posted the following reports concerning nanomaterials: Considerations for Using Dissolution as a Function of Surface Chemistry to Evaluate Environmental Behaviour Of Nanomaterials in Risk Assessments: A Preliminary Case Study Using Silver Nanoparticles — The December 18, 2015, report discusses preliminary findings on dissolution by media type, provides recommendations, compares silver nanoparticles to other...