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On July 25, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nanotechnology Task Force issued its report, which addresses regulatory and scientific issues and offers recommendations for each. The Task Force intends its report to outline ways for FDA to enhance its knowledge of nanotechnology to support its oversight for products using such technology, and to inform interested stakeholders what information may be needed to support the marketing of FDA-regulated products that use...

Environment Canada (EC) recently posted a New Substances Program Advisory Note entitled “Requirements for nanomaterials under the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers).” The Advisory Note was signed in June 2007 and states that the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) and the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) (Regulations) “apply to new nanomaterials just as any other substance, whether a chemical or a...

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) recently issued a position statement on nanotechnology risks. The CSTE statement observes that the “health, safety and environmental effects of nanomaterials are poorly understood,” and that “our limited knowledge of [nanotechnology’s] potential harm is cause for concern.” Among other things, CSTE calls: for increased funding for research on the environmental, health, and safety impacts of nanotechnology;...

On June 9, 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed three Federal Register notices related to the Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (appended). EPA intends to publish the notices in the July 12, 2007, Federal Register. The first notice announces a public meeting on August 2, 2007, to receive comments on the development of the voluntary NMSP. The second...

On June 22, 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the award of two research grants totaling almost $600,000 to scientists at Oregon State University, who will evaluate whether some engineered nanomaterials adversely affect human health. Under the first research grant, scientists will review a variety of commonly manufactured nanomaterials to determine their potential interactions with biological processes; if the researchers find nanomaterials that produce...

Until September 6, 2007, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) is accepting comments on its Preliminary Opinion on the Safety of Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products. According to the SCCP, traditional risk assessment methods — hazard identification, hazard characterization, and exposure assessment — may not be suitable for nanomaterials in cosmetics.  The SCCP suggests that either a new method should be developed, or...

In the July 2, 2007, Federal Register, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice regarding its conference entitled “Pollution Prevention through Nanotechnology,” which will be held on September 25-26, 2007, in Arlington, Virginia. EPA intends the conference to provide a forum to exchange ideas and information on using nanotechnology to develop new ways to prevent pollution. Lynn L. Bergeson is on the Steering Committee for the...

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) held its latest Nanotechnology Teleconference on June 21, 2007. Entitled “Nanotechnology and Environmental Governance,” the teleconference explored the need for voluntary environmental governance mechanisms to augment the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s traditional regulatory programs to manage the issues associated with nanotechnology. The teleconference featured three...

On June 21, 2007, Environmental Defense (ED) and DuPont, who commenced a partnership on nanotechnology in September 2005, released the final Nano Risk Framework, which establishes “a systematic and disciplined process for identifying, managing, and reducing potential environmental, health, and safety risks of engineered nanomaterials across all stages of a product’s ‘lifecycle.’” The Framework is aimed primarily at organizations, both private and public, that are actively...

At its June 22, 2007, meeting, the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) reviewed nominations of several substances for testing, including nanoscale silver. The Food and Drug Administration nominated nanoscale silver for toxicological studies “based on (a) increasing widespread use in drug, food and cosmetic products, and (b) the general lack of data on the toxicology and pharmacokinetics of these materials.” Comments on the...