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Membership in the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) offers a number of benefits to members of the nano community. As a member of the Governing Board, I strongly recommend that you consider joining and become part of the SNO family. SNO’s purpose is to provide a professional society forum to advance knowledge in all aspects of sustainable nanotechnology, including both applications and implications. SNO is comprised of individuals and institutions that are engaged in:...

The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) will hold its next webinar focusing on the experiences, successes, and challenges for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) working in nanotechnology and on issues of interest to the business community on May 20, 2015, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EDT).  The webinar will include the following speakers: Ajay P. Malshe, Founder, Executive Vice President, and Chief Technical Officer of NanoMech. NanoMech has developed patented...

Membership in the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) offers a number of benefits to members of the nano community. SNO's purpose is to provide a professional society forum to advance knowledge in all aspects of sustainable nanotechnology, including both applications and implications.

On October 28, 2015, the European Parliament (EP) approved proposed rules that would subject novel foods to a safety evaluation and authorization at the European Union (EU) level.  According to the EP’s October 28, 2015, press release, novel foods include food consisting of “engineered nanomaterials,” and would be defined as “any intentionally produced material that has one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less.”  If there is a possibility a new food could affect...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the May 8, 2015, Federal Register announcing a public meeting on June 11, 2015, to discuss EPA’s April 6, 2015, proposed rule concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale. This is a very important opportunity for stakeholders to offer comments on a rulemaking that has important implications for the nano community....

On April 28, 2015, the European Parliament approved a draft law restricting crop-based biofuels in order to encourage production of advanced biofuels with low-risk ILUC and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The law, that was discussed in the April 23, 2015, Biobased and Renewable Products Update, applies to legislation requiring EU Member States ensure that at least 10 percent of energy used in transport by 2020 is renewable. Under the new law, no more than 7 percent of energy consumption by...

Sofinnova Partners has announced an award for renewable chemistry start-up companies to be presented at the 2015 Bio World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. The winner will be able to pitch its project at the conference. Companies must have revenue below $5 million and be active in renewable chemistry, industrial biotechnology, or renewable fuels in order to be eligible for the award. There will be an online vote for the top five companies, and an industry jury will select the winning...

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee published a notice in the April 30, 2015, Federal Register announcing an open meeting that will provide advice and guidance on promoting research and development leading to the production of biobased fuels and biobased products. The meeting will include updates on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and DOE biomass activities, updates on the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, an...

(BIO) released a new white paper on "Estimating Chilled Investment for Advanced Biofuels Due to RFS Uncertainty," along with an accompanying press release. BIO examined the impact of EPA's recent inability in administering the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on investment in advanced and cellulosic biofuels. It has found that EPA's delay in issuing the final 2013 and 2014 RFS rules, among other delays in RFS administration, is responsible for most of the "$13.7 billion shortfall in...

The Wilson Center’s Synthetic Biology Project announced on April 29, 2015, a first-of-its-kind inventory to track products and applications using the emerging technology of synthetic biology.  The inventory is intended to provide the public the best available look at the many manufacturer-identified synbio-based products and the companies that produce them.  The Synthetic Biology Project notes that because synthetic biology is a rapidly changing technology platform, the data represented in...

TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EPA Releases TSCA Work Plan Chemical Problem Formulation, Initial Assessment For 1,4-Dioxane: On April 28, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan Chemical Problem Formulation and Initial Assessment for 1,4-Dioxane, a chemical used primarily as a solvent in the manufacture of other chemicals. 80 Fed. Reg. 23545. A first step in the assessment of TSCA Work Plan chemicals, the 1,4-Dioxane Problem...

On April 27, 2015, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced publication of "Carbon Nanotube and Nanofiber Exposure Assessments: An Analysis of 14 Site Visits" in Annals of Occupational Hygiene.  The paper is the second report from NIOSH's Industrywide Study. According to NIOSH, the findings illustrate which tasks have the highest exposures, trends in exposure, nature and character of materials involved, effectiveness of controls when used, and continued...

In the first installment of this series, I wrote about how the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulates products. In this article, we will look across a manufacturing process. TSCA applies to chemical substances that are used for purposes other than food, food additives, animal feed, cosmetics, drugs, tobacco and tobacco products, pesticides, munitions, and nuclear source materials. Biobased chemicals, that is, chemicals made from lignocellulose or other biomass, are finding...

On April 24, 2015, EPA released a Federal Register notice inviting comment on analysis of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced during the production and transport of Brassica carinata (carinata) oil feedstock for use in the production of biofuels. The plant is not used for food in the U.S., and has high concentrations of erucic acid, making it attractive for use in biolubricants and biopolymers, as well as biofuels. EPA anticipates that biofuels produced using carinata oil will qualify as...

On April 23, 2015, a bi-partisan group of 37 Senators led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Thune (R-SD), Al Franken (D-MN), and Mark Kirk (R-IL) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging a strong final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The full list of 37 co-signors and text of the letter is available on Senator Grassley's website. The Senators urge EPA to reconsider its proposed 2014 renewable...

Bioeconomy companies recognize that their products are subject to a variety of federal chemical regulations, especially if they sell food, food additives, cosmetics, or other products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Unfortunately, companies may not recognize all the ways that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates bioproducts, perhaps because of the understandable focus on the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the various programs under that authority: Renewable...

The European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) Nano Task Force published an article in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology entitled "A decision-making framework for the grouping and testing of nanomaterials (DF4nanoGrouping)."

On April 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the initial installment of its Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). This first installment focuses on ways to modernize the U.S. energy infrastructure to increase the country's energy competitiveness and security. In its QER, DOE points out that while U.S. biofuel production has increased significantly over the past decade -- due largely to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) --"[c]ontinued growth in ethanol use will...