On March 9, 2017, the NanoSafety Cluster published its 2017 Research Regulatory Roadmap. The purpose of the Roadmap is to identify both ongoing and complete activities associated with the development of regulations promoting the safety of nanomaterials. The Roadmap identifies research areas or priorities that need to be addressed further to facilitate this process. According to the Roadmap, there remain significant gaps in knowledge and procedures that need to be addressed...
Category: Research and Testing
On February 23, 2017, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) issued a press release announcing a new report, commissioned by CIEL, the European Environmental Citizens’ Organization for Standardization (ECOS), and the Oeko-Institute, that “shows that most of the information made available by the Sponsorship Testing Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is of little to no value for the regulatory risk assessment of...
February 27, 2017
NIOSH Publishes Draft Chapter on Analysis of Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers on Filters by Transmission Electron Microscopy
On February 27, 2017, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of a draft chapter to be published in the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods entitled “Analysis of Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers on Mixed Cellulose Ester Filters by Transmission Electron Microscopy” for public comment. The draft chapter provides standardized approaches for the analysis of carbon nanoparticles. NIOSH states that these standardized...
The Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) published a news item on January 16, 2017, entitled “Nanoparticles — to handle with care.” IRSST states that although research is still in development, it appears that nanoparticles can enter the respiratory tract or penetrate through the skin and make their way to the bloodstream, which may carry the nanoparticles to various organs. While studies have been...
February 1, 2017
OECD Publishes Report on Alternative Testing Strategies in Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled Alternative Testing Strategies in Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Current State of Knowledge and Research Needs to Advance Their Use. Experts from academia, industry, public interest groups, and government researched, analyzed, and discussed how alternative models could be used to advance the risk analysis of manufactured nanomaterials. The objectives were to...
January 19, 2017
Federal Agencies Announce Revision to Modernize Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects
On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), together with a host of other federal agencies, announced revisions via a final rule to modernize, strengthen, and make more effective the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects that was originally promulgated as a Common Rule in 1991. 82 Fed. Reg. 7151. The Federal Register publication states that this final rule is intended to “better protect human subjects involved in research,...
December 29, 2016
EPA Issues Changes to OCSPP Final Test Guidelines For Series 850 Group A — Ecological Effects
On December 29, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice regarding the availability of final test guidelines, OCSPP Series 850 Group A — Ecological Effects, part of a series of test guidelines established by the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) for use in testing pesticides and chemical substances to develop data for submission to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and...
December 22, 2016
EPA Announces Start of Voluntary Pilot Program to Reduce Animal Testing
On December 20, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the start of a pilot program to evaluate the usefulness and acceptability of a mathematical tool (the GHS Mixtures Equation), which is used in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). EPA states that the goal of the pilot program is to “evaluate the utility and acceptability of the GHS Mixtures Equation as an alternative to animal oral and inhalation toxicity...
December 21, 2016
OSHA Sustainability Paper Notes Opportunity to Integrate Sustainability and Nanotechnology Research
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released on December 20, 2016, a white paper entitled Sustainability in the Workplace: A New Approach for Advancing Worker Safety and Health. The paper highlights the importance of including worker safety and health in the growing movement toward sustainability and corporate responsibility. According to the paper, research on sustainability does not include occupational safety and health. The paper notes that...
December 2, 2016
USDA Funding Leads To First Wood-To-Jet Fuel Commercial Flight
On November 14, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its partners celebrated the successful journey of the first commercial flight powered in part by a new renewable fuel made from wood waste. The demonstration flight, operated by Alaska Airlines, was made possible due to a five-year $39.6 million research project to develop a viable renewable fuel source from cellulose-rich wood harvest leftovers funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and led...