February 1, 2011

Monthly Update for February 2011

FEDERAL ISSUESTSCA/FIFRA/NTP/EPCRA EPA Issues Technical Correction On TSCA Section 4 Test Rule On Certain High Production Volume Chemicals: On January 26, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a technical correction to a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 4 final rule EPA issued on January 7, 2011. 76 Fed. Reg. 4549. The test rule concerns testing of certain high production volume (HPV) chemical substances to obtain screening level data for health and...
January 31, 2011

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Emerging Nanomaterial Governance Systems: The State of Play,” Molecular Imaging, January-February 2011.

Domestic laws, their implementing regulations and policies, and government and private-party governance programs are now being carefully reviewed and revised to enhance their utility to manage the potential risks posed by nanoscale materials. Whether existing laws and their implementing programs are adequate to address such risks will continue to inspire debate and legislative and regulatory initiatives for years to come. This article reviews existing legal and governance oversight systems and...
January 28, 2011

EC Announces Fourth Annual Nanotechnology Safety for Success Dialogue Workshop

The European Commission (EC) announced that it will hold the fourth annual Nanotechnology Safety for Success Dialogue Workshop on March 29-30, 2011, in Brussels, Belgium. According to the EC, many market modelers identify nanotechnologies as drivers of economic growth, and as a consequence, many governments have adopted ambitious plans intended to ensure the commercial success of nanotechnologies. At the same time, the number of potential and real applications is...
January 27, 2011

Hohenstein Institute Finds Antibacterial Textiles Containing Nanosilver To Be Safe

The Hohenstein Institute announced on January 10, 2011, that it completed a field study of the effect of antibacterial clothing containing nanosilver on skin flora and microclimate. According to the Institute, natural skin flora were unaffected, even after long periods of wear. A total of 60 healthy volunteers participated in the six-week study. Special t-shirts were made for the study, with an antibacterial treatment on one side (verum), while the other half served as a non-antibacterial...
January 27, 2011

Jackson Signs Proposed Rule Amending Human Subjects Protections Rule

On January 18, 2011, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed a proposed rule that would revise EPA’s February 6, 2006, final rule concerning protections for subjects in human research. According to EPA, the proposed amendments would broaden the applicability of the rules to cover human testing with pesticides submitted to EPA under any regulatory statute it administers. The proposed amendments would also disallow participation in third-party pesticide...
January 26, 2011

EU-OSHA Announces Control Banding Tool for Nanomaterials

On January 25, 2011, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) announced that French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) experts have developed a control banding tool specific to nanomaterials that can potentially be used in any work environment in which nanomaterials are manufactured or used. With control banding, new products are classified into “bands,” which are defined after comparison with the hazard level of known...
January 25, 2011

ABA Publishes New Book on Product Liability

We are pleased to announce that the American Bar Association (ABA) has published a new book, entitled Product Liability, which Lynn L. Bergeson co-authored. Product Liability presents business and policy advisory perspectives on issues in product liability emerging from current changing legal and global market conditions. Bergeson co-authored the chapter entitled “New on the Horizon: Nanotechnology.” More information is available online....