Articles

On May 19, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it issued a conditional registration for a nanosilver-containing antimicrobial pesticide product named “NSPW-L30SS,” or “Nanosilva.”...

In the second installment of this series, I wrote about how the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulates products across a manufacturing process, from feedstock to product. In this last installment, I present options for updating TSCA and the related implementing regulations to put novel, biobased chemistry on an even footing with incumbent products and processes that were grandfathered in as part of the original TSCA Inventory. The key is to find a way to level the field...

On April 28, 2015, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing to consider the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697). Since then, S. 697 has gained additional backing from both Republicans and Democrats. These events are important because they demonstrate significant bipartisan support for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and suggest TSCA reform actually may be in our future....

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 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...

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...

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).”...

As all chemical companies doing business in the European Union (EU) should know, the “A” in REACH stands for Authorisation, the last of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) processes to be implemented since the regulation entered into force in 2008. This article reviews the path to Authorisation and reports on key developments shared during the “Lessons Learnt on Applications for Authorisation” ECHA conference held 11 February,...

On April 6, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) rule concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when manufactured (including imported) or processed at the nanoscale. ...