Articles

In a game-changing bipartisan show of support for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that few saw coming, United States (US) Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and the late Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)—among bipartisan others—introduced on May 22, 2013, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), later designated Senate Bill 1009 (S.1009). CSIA provides a new and streamlined approach to reforming TSCA that stakeholders may view favorably when compared to legislative templates that have...

Most GHS adoptions will complete implementation by 2015, mandating that all mixtures must be classified according to the particular legislation of that jurisdiction. Although some variation will remain between labelling information and hazard category adoption, this greatly simplifies the process of classification and labelling for retail and consumer products. This level of harmonisation, together with the standardisation of transport labels, offers the promise of greatly simplifying and...

On December 20, 2013, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a document entitled Protecting the Nanotechnology Workforce: NIOSH Nanotechnology Research and Guidance Strategic Plan, 2013-2016. See http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2014-106/ NIOSH describes the document as "the roadmap being used to advance basic understanding of the toxicology and workplace exposures involved so that appropriate risk management practices can be implemented during...

On December 4, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule entailing the use of electronic reporting for certain reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), effective March 4, 2014. This article summarizes the final rule.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published Technical Specification (TS) 13830:2013, "Nanotechnologies -- Guidance on voluntary labelling for consumer products containing manufactured nano-objects." See https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:ts:13830:ed-1:v1:en The purpose of the guidance "is to provide a framework to facilitate a harmonized approach for the voluntary provision of labelling for [consumer products containing manufactured nano-objects (PCMNO)]...

On November 28, 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that the Working Group for IARC Monographs Volume 111, "Some Nanomaterials and Some Fibres," will meet September 30 to October 7, 2014. IARC states that "[d]etails will follow shortly."

When the Natural Resources Defense Council sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency immediately after the EPA conditionally registered HeiQ AGS-20 and AGS-20 U nanosilver pesticide products, the nano community collectively held its breath. On Nov. 7, 2013, that same community let out a collective sigh of relief as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit largely upheld the EPA’s approach under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act in registering the first...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued in October 2013 a final rule amending a significant new use rule (SNUR) for perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances. The rule is receiving praise because it narrowly and precisely targets the scope of the “articles” (finished products) subject to the SNUR requirements.

Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) announced in October 2013 a voluntary guidance document on measuring airborne carbon nanotubes (CNT) in workplaces.

On November 7, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted in part and denied in part the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) conditional registration of HeiQ AGS-20 and AGS-20 U (collectively, AGS-20) nanosilver products.