Memoranda

On July, 14, 2011, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's Science and Space Subcommittee held a hearing on national nanotechnology investment. The hearing was held to examine the potential of nanotechnology, federal initiatives to coordinate research investments, barriers to commercialization, possible environmental and health risks, and steps Congress can take to improve the return on federal nanotechnology investments as the Committee works on drafting a...

On July 11, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed significant new use rule (SNUR) for 14 glymes, a class of chemicals structurally related to glycol ethers. According to EPA, the proposed rule, issued under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would require persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process the glymes for an activity that is designated as a significant new use to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that...

On June 30, 2011, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed a proposed rule seeking to narrow certain recycling exemptions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA) "Definition of Solid Waste" (DSW) provisions. The rule should be published in the Federal Register within the next two weeks. A pre-publication copy of the rule and related information can be accessed online. EPA will accept comments on the rule for 60 days after it is...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has sent to the Partner Expert Group (PEG) a draft of a second version of the guidance on data sharing for phase-in and non-phase-in substances under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) (Data Sharing Guidance). The first edition of the Data Sharing Guidance was published in 2007. ECHA has revised the entire Data Sharing Guidance document, including correcting mistakes and inconsistencies, proposing to remove...

Taiwan is likely to publish a draft national inventory of existing chemical substances by the end of 2011. During an interagency meeting held the week of June 20, 2011, participants chose to delay publication of the draft inventory to align it with legislation for new chemicals notification. Taiwan will introduce new chemicals notification by amending two laws -- the Labor Safety and Health Act (LSHA), managed by the Council of Labor Affairs, and the Toxic Chemical Substance Control Act...

The Nanotechnology Caucus will hold a lecture entitled "Nanotechnology 101" on June 22, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The agenda includes: Opening Remarks: Vincent Caprio, Executive Director, NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA); Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR); Sally Tinkle, Ph.D., Acting Director, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee, Committee on Technology...

On June 14, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took long-awaited action to update regulations for testing and labeling over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen products. The Agency emphasized that the primary intent of its initiative was to establish a consistent standard for testing and labeling sunscreen products to reduce consumer confusion and encourage proper use of these products to enhance their protective function. The most significant elements of FDA's action include changes in...

Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health, and James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, announced that their staffs will co-host on June 21, 2011, the first of several stakeholder meetings concerning reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Lautenberg introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847), which is intended to modernize TSCA to...

On June 9, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) posted on its home page a Draft Guidance on Considering Whether an FDA-Regulated Product Involves Application of Nanotechnology. The Agency states that this document is the first step in providing regulatory clarity about the use of nanomaterials in FDA-regulated products and other more product-specific guidance documents are likely to follow. Specifically, the Draft Guidance is "intended to help industry and others identify...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on June 9, 2011, a pre-publication copy of a forthcoming Federal Register notice describing several possible approaches for obtaining certain additional information on the composition of pesticide products. EPA focuses particularly on information about what nanoscale materials are present in registered pesticide products, and defines "nanoscale material" as "an active or inert ingredient and any component parts thereof intentionally...