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On June 18, 2007, the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus will host a briefing on Nanotechnology Applications for Renewable Energy. On July 16, 2007, the Caucus will host a briefing on Nanotechnology Applications for Energy Conservation. Each event will begin at 2 p.m. (EDT). The purpose of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus is to promote nanotechnology, educate policy makers about this emerging area, and facilitate communications between industrial and academic...

The July 2007 issue of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology includes an article entitled “Limits and Prospects of the ‘Incremental Approach’ and the European Legislation on the Management of Risks Related to Nanomaterials.” According to the authors, the European Commission (EC) has adopted an incremental approach, focusing on adopting existing laws to regulate nanotechnologies. The authors concluded that the current regulations fail to address the...

The European Commission (EC) will hold its annual Green Week in Brussels, Belgium, from June 12-15, 2007.  On June 14, 2007, an afternoon session will examine the benefits of nanotechnology for the environment and on how nanotechnologies could help to solve major environmental problems, e.g., climate change, energy efficiency, resources use, remediation and pollution prevention, opportunities for developing countries, as well as the potential risks for environment...

On April 24, 2007, the Kojo Nnamdi Show, a news magazine program on National Public Radio (NPR), aired a program entitled “New Approaches to Nanotechnology.” The program featured: David Rejeski, Director, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars/Pew Charitable Trusts; Rick Weiss, Science and Medicine Reporter, The Washington Post; Jeffrey Schloss, Co-Chair, Trans-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Nano Taskforce, NIH; and...

On May 23, 2007, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century, which identifies actions that should be taken to establish an oversight system. The report focuses in particular on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which it describes as “a key agency in any oversight effort because of its numerous regulatory authorities and its mission...

According to a recent report entitled Nanomaterials in Consumer Products, the extent to which a variety of European regulations would manage potential risks of nanomaterials in consumer products cannot be assessed. The report was prepared for the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety. According to the report, which is not publicly available, “[u]ntil there are data on which to determine the nature of any risks posed by...

On May 17, 2005, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) released a report entitled Environmentally Beneficial Nanotechnologies: Barriers and Opportunities, which provides the results of a study exploring ways in which nanotechnology could reduce the use of non-renewable energy sources and greenhouse gas emissions. The study investigated the opportunities and potential obstacles to adoption of a number of environmentally beneficial...

On May 15, 2007, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) issued a report entitled Nanotechnology’s Invisible Threat: Small Science, Big Consequences, which claims that the U.S. government has failed “to use its authority to protect citizens from the potentially dangerous effects of nano-scale chemistry.” NRDC proposes a three-part framework for regulating nanomaterials, and based the framework on a precautionary approach to managing toxic chemicals: Prohibit the unsafe or...

It has been suggested by some that REACH’s application to nanoparticles and nanomaterials is unclear.  While it is true that REACH does not specifically mention nanoparticles or nanoscale materials anywhere in its 800+ pages of text, we note that in December 2006, shortly after the regulation’s adoption by the European Parliament, the European Commission posted on its website a question-and-answer document that includes the following two exchanges: Will the use of hazardous...

At the 2007 U.S.-European Union (EU) Summit in Washington, D.C. late last month, President Bush and European Union (EU) leaders signed an economic integration agreement, the Framework for Advancing Transatlantic Economic Integration Between the United States of America and the European Union. With respect to nanotechnology, the accord commits the U.S. and EU to the following: Expand cooperation on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) activities relating to risk...

Two researchers at the University of Missouri — Columbia’s College of Engineering have received an $84,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the potential effects of silver nanoparticles on wastewater treatment systems. According to a university press release, Baolin Deng, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Zhiqiang Hu, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, “will determine how silver...

On May 10, 2007, the European Commission (EC) announced the availability of the results of its April 16, 2007, workshop on intellectual property rights (IPR) in nanotechnology. The objective of the workshop was to identify specific IPR issues for nanotechnology and to discuss possible consequences for patent offices, policy makers, patent consultants, and the research community.  Ongoing academic and political discussions have identified many aspects, such as the costs of...

On May 4, 2007, the European Commission (EC) released a document entitled Strategy for Communication Outreach in Nanotechnology, which is a working paper from the EC’s February 6, 2007, workshop. The paper includes recommendations for future European funding on appropriate communication and innovative approaches to engage the European civil society in a dialogue on nanotechnology, including:  surveying the public; developing new models and tools for communication; developing the...

The Toxics Management Division (TMD) in the City of Berkeley’s Planning and Development Department has issued guidance on the nanoparticle municipal ordinance that the Berkeley City Council adopted on December 12, 2006. Under the ordinance, facilities that manufacture or use “manufactured nanoparticles” must submit to the TMD “a separate written disclosure of the current toxicology of the materials reported, to the extent known, and how the facility will safely handle,...

An undergraduate fashion design student, a fiber science professor, and a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University in New York have teamed up to design what may very well be the world’s first garment “that can prevent colds and flu.” According to a May 1, 2007, news release, the three collaborators produced a dress from cotton fabrics that had been coated with silver nanoparticles. Silver, of course, is a well-known antimicrobial. Cotton fibers were positively...

On April 30, 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register its latest Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, which serves to update the public on regulations and major policies currently under development by EPA.  One of the entries in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA ) portion of the agenda is entitled "Nanoscale Materials Under TSCA" and addresses the forthcoming Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP), the design of which EPA...

On April 16, 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that, due to a technical problem, it is unable to verify receipt of contact information from anyone who subscribed to the e-mail notification list on the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Nanotechnology web page from October 18 to November 1, 2006, and again from January 18 to January 23, 2007.  According to EPA, it has corrected the problem and is now compiling a list of stakeholders to...

In mid-March 2007, Representative Jim Saxton (R-NJ), the ranking minority member of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released a new Congressional study on nanotechnology. On balance an extremely positive report, the JEC Study “discusses the range of sciences currently covered by nanotechnology,” describes “what nanotechnology is and how it relates to previous scientific advances,” as well as “the most likely future development of different technologies in a variety of...

At the 2007 GlobalChem Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, Lynn L. Bergeson presented slides on “Nanotechnology:  What’s New.”  Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. co-sponsored this important conference.

The November 2006 mid-term elections portend a number of significant Congressional changes. There is no doubt that Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate will shake things up. Some in the business community are buckling their seat belts and preparing for a bumpy ride. Here are a few thoughts on the shape of things to come.