All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On November 6, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for two chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). EPA identified the substances generically as multi-walled carbon nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes. According to the notice, these substances are subject to TSCA Section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. The consent orders...

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for two chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). EPA identified the substances generically as multi-walled carbon nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes. According to the notice, these substances are subject to TSCA Section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. The consent orders require protective...

On October 27-28, 2009, the Ninth Antimicrobial Workshop was held in Arlington, Virginia. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) Biocides Panel, the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA), and ISSA sponsored the Workshop, which was conducted in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Antimicrobials Division. The Workshop included presentations on the following topics: According to the Workshop organizers, the presentations will be available by the end of this week...

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a Pesticide Registration (PR) Notice entitled “Pesticide Drift Labeling” (2009-X) and a draft explanatory document entitled “Pesticide Drift Labeling Interpretation.”  In a separate Federal Register notice, EPA announced that, on October 13, 2009, Earthjustice and Farmworker Justice, on behalf of several other organizations, filed a petition requesting that EPA...

Today the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the availability of its Guidance in a Nutshell:  Chemical Safety Assessment, which is intended to assist industry in understanding the general provisions for conducting a Chemical Safety Assessment (CSA).  ECHA states that the Guidance is aimed at non-experts who would like to understand the legal requirements under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation regarding substance...

On October 23, 2009, EHP-in-Press posted an article entitled “Evaluation of Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity in vivo Skin and in vitro Keratinocytes,” which assesses the potential cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles in human epidermal keratinocytes, and their inflammatory and penetrating potential into porcine skin in vivo. According to the article, silver nanoparticles are non-toxic when dosed in washed silver nanoparticle solutions or...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will stream its November 3-6, 2009, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting on the Internet. EPA has asked the SAP “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” According to EPA, companies with an interest in marketing products that...

TSCA/FIFRA/NTP/EPCRA EPA Issues Notice For External Peer Review Draft Of Recommended Toxicity Equivalency Factors (TEF) For Dioxin And Dioxin-Like Compounds — On October 16, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to convene an independent panel of experts to organize and conduct an external peer review meeting to review the draft document titled “Recommended Toxicity Equivalency Factors (TEFs) for Human Health Risk Assessments of Dioxin and Dioxin-Like...

On October 14 and 15, 2009, the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) held its semiannual meeting in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offices in Arlington, Virginia.  This memorandum summarizes the presentations and topics discussed during the meeting, which were organized into seven sessions: Copies of the slides and handouts from the meeting are available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/2009/october/october09.html. In his introductory remarks, Steve Owens,...

This memorandum outlines research being sponsored, conducted, or planned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding nanoscale materials. FDA has indicated repeatedly that it needs additional information on the characterization of such materials to make informal decisions regarding the safety of regulated products that incorporate nanotechnology.1 While those decisions are for the most part in the future, there is at least one use of nanotechnology in drug and cosmetic products...