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According to a February 27, 2009, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Update entitled “Issues in Developing Worker Epidemiological Studies Related to Engineered Nanoparticles Are Discussed in Paper,” NIOSH scientists and a colleague from Emory University have prepared a paper concerning issues that researchers will need to consider in designing sound epidemiological studies of workers who may be exposed to engineered nanoparticles in the manufacturing and commercial...

During the February 18, 2009, Food and Drug Law Institute’s Second Annual Conference on Nanotechnology Law, Regulation, and Policy, Dr. Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, Associate Center Director for Post-Market Operations at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), stated that FDA will not issue guidance until companies bring products to them so that FDA can learn more about the effects of nanotechnology. Sackner-Bernstein acknowledged that the...

On February 13, 2009, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) released a statement regarding the National Research Council’s (NRC) December 10, 2008, report regarding its review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research.  According to the statement, NNI member agencies noted the report’s “substantial and important recommendations for further progress on EHS...

On February 18, 2009, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published its opinion on the most recent developments in the risk assessment of nanomaterials.  In its opinion, SCENIHR indicates that methodologies to assess exposure to manufactured nanomaterials to humans and the environment and the identification of potential hazards require further development.  For lack of a general approach, SCENIHR maintains its...

On February 3, 2009, Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities (NANO) Act (H.R. 820), which is intended to ensure the development and responsible stewardship of nanotechnology. Honda based the legislation on the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology, a panel of California nanotechnology experts with backgrounds in established industry, startup companies, consulting groups, non-profits, academia,...

On January 14, 2009, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled A Hard Pill To Swallow: Barriers to Effective FDA Regulation of Nanotechnology-Based Dietary Supplements, which describes problems at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in regulating nano-enabled dietary supplements and offers recommendations for improving oversight. According to the report, FDA’s ability to regulate the safety of such dietary supplements “is severely limited by lack of...

On October 30, 2008, Consumers Union petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require a full safety assessment on the use of engineered nanoparticles, particularly in cosmetics, sunscreens, and sunblocks, and “to investigate possible enforcement action to ensure accurate labeling as to the presence or absence of nanoparticles.” Consumers Union cites new findings in the December 2008 issue of Consumer Reports, and states that the findings “confirm...

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted a submission made by BASF Chemical Company under Section 8(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which requires U.S. chemical manufacturers, importers, processors and distributors to notify EPA within 30 calendar days of new, unpublished information on their chemicals that may lead to a conclusion of substantial risk to human health or to the environment. In its July 8, 2008, submission, BASF submitted the results of a...

On October 8, 2008, the European Commission (EC) published a regulation amending the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Annex IV to remove carbon and graphite. Although the substances were originally listed in Annex IV, meaning they were exempt from REACH requirements because they were considered to be of minimum risk because of their intrinsic properties, a European Union (EU) expert committee delisted the substances in June 2008. According to the...

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently posted two blog items regarding a consent order negotiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The October 9, 2008, item states that EPA intends to issue a sanitized version of a consent order negotiated with a producer of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). According to EDF, the order was prompted by EPA’s review of a premanufacturing notification (PMN). EDF obtained a redacted copy of the consent order, and...

In an October 2, 2008, Update entitled “NIOSH Nanotechnology Research News Notes:  New Papers on PPE, Toxicity; New Partnerships, Award,” the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) describes two new peer-reviewed papers, two new international partnerships, and a professional award....

On September 18, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA Region 5 will host the 2008 International Environmental Nanotechnology Conference: Applications and Implications, October 7-9, 2008, in Chicago, Illinois. According to EPA, researchers from Asia, Australia, and Europe will join U.S. scientists and government officials to discuss nanotechnology applications for environmental cleanup, pollution control, and the implications of releasing engineered...

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held its publicized Public Meeting on Nanotechnology on Monday, September 8, 2008, near its main offices in Rockville, Maryland. The meeting consisted of a plenary session led by Dr. Norris Alderson, Co-Chair of the FDA Nanotechnology Task Force, followed by separate breakout sessions for prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, food and color additives (including food contact substances), and...

Recent press reports have indicated, and an attorney with the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) has confirmed, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contacted ICTA last week and informed the organization that it (EPA) intends to seek public comment on the nanoscale silver petition filed by ICTA and 13 other consumer, health, and environmental groups on May 1, 2008. The petition demanded, inter alia, that EPA regulate as pesticides under the...

In its latest Background Paper, entitled Mounting Evidence That Carbon Nanotubes May Be the New Asbestos, Friends of the Earth Australia (FOEA) is calling “for an immediate moratorium on the commercial use of carbon nanotubes and the sale of products that incorporate nanotubes until research can demonstrate whether or not there is any safe level of exposure to them.”   FOEA also is calling for new nanotechnology-specific regulation to protect human health and the...

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold an October 8-9, 2008, workshop regarding enabling standards for nanomaterial characterization.  According to the workshop overview, there is an “urgent need” to elevate new protocols and practices for characterizing the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials, and their in vitro and in vivo properties with respect to biological systems, to that of internationally accepted standards to accelerate research,...

The August 2008 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives includes an article entitled “Nano-Food Chain Link Examined,” which reports on recent research by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding whether nanomaterials biomagnify in the food chain. NIST reports that certain nanomaterials may not accumulate in the food chain, but notes that additional research is necessary before any generalizations can be made regarding environmental and human safety of...

In an August 7, 2008, Federal Register notice, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will convene a public meeting on September 8, 2008, on FDA-regulated products that may contain nanoscale materials. According to the Federal Register notice, FDA also is seeking public comments and available data “that will assist [FDA] in further implementing the recommendations of the Nanotechnology Task Force Report . . . relating to the...

On July 28, 2008, the City Council of Cambridge, Massachusetts voted to accept a set of recommendations for a municipal health and safety policy on nanomaterials. The recommendations were set forth in a report prepared by the Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD) and the Cambridge Nanomaterials Advisory Committee (CNAC). Cambridge now becomes the second city in the United States — Berkeley, California is the other — to have taken municipal action on...

On July 22, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) posted a web page entitled “Pesticide Issues in the Works:  Nanotechnology, the Science of Small.” The web page states: “[The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)] and EPA’s implementing regulations provide an effective framework for regulating pesticide products that are a product of nanotechnology or that contain nanoscale...

On July 17, 2007, Senators Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Chair of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, John Kerry (D-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2008. The bill would reauthorize the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and amend aspects of the program to prioritize better research and development activities. Specifically, the bill would:...

On June 26, 2008, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) passed a resolution on nanotechnologies and nanomaterials, which calls for the application of the precautionary principle. The resolution states that application of the precautionary principle is necessary to avoid “past mistakes [made] with putatively ‘miracle’ technologies and materials. According to ETUC, the number of workers coming into contact with nanomaterials will increase sharply as nanotechnologies...

On June 17, 2008, the European Commission (EC) issued a press release entitled “Commission starts public dialogue on nanotechnologies — tapping economic and environmental potential through safe products.” According to the EC, while current European Union (EU) legislation “covers in principle” the environment, health, and safety issues concerning nanomaterials, “there is further need for research and international cooperation.” EC will begin a consultation with...

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently solicited nominations for substances for review in future IARC Monographs, which identify environmental factors that can increase the risk of human cancer. IARC states that it will select substances for review based on: (a) evidence of human exposure; and (b) evidence or suspicion of carcinogenicity. The 51 substances nominated include carbon nanotubes, which received three nominations: Name...

We are pleased to announce that Lynn L. Bergeson will be speaking on June 2, 2008, at the Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) Nanotech 2008 conference, which will run from June 1-5, 2008. She will be participating in a session on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program. In addition, she is a co-presenter of the poster entitled “Nanomaterials down the drain: perception and reality.”...

On May 19, 2008, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) posted its sixth quarterly report on the Voluntary Reporting Scheme (VRS) for engineered nanoscale materials. According to the report, DEFRA received no new submissions this quarter, and to date has received only nine submissions since the VRS’s launch in September 2006:  seven from industry, and two from academia. The report states that DEFRA, in partnership with the United Kingdom Technology Strategy Board,...

On May 20, 2008, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted an entry on its science blog entitled “Nanotechnology: Should carbon nanotubes be handled in the workplace like asbestos?” The entry was prompted by the release of two recent reports contributing to the carbon nanotube/asbestos fiber comparison debate. The entry asks what the implications are to the risk assessment and risk management of carbon nanotubes in U.S. workplaces, and...

On May 1, 2008, the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA), together with 13 other consumer, health, and environmental groups, filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanding that EPA regulate as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and that it take additional actions under FIFRA and other environmental statutes concerning, consumer products containing nanoscale silver. ICTA also released...

On April 24, 2008, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Nanotechnology: Accuracy of Data on Federally Funded Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Could Be Improved, which contains the testimony of Robert A. Robinson, Managing Director, Natural Resources and Environment, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation. Robinson provided a summary of GAO’s findings...

On April 18, 2008, The American Chemical Society Science & the Congress Project, The Society of Toxicology, and The Society for Risk Analysis sponsored a Congressional briefing entitled “Nanotechnology 102: Understanding Congress’ Role.” Panelists included Kristen Kulinowski, Director of the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON); J. Clarence (Terry) Davies, Senior Advisor, Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN); James Cooper, Vice President of...

On March 11, 2008, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) released a report entitled Responsible Production and Use of Nanomaterials, which is a series of documents intended to provide guidance on all aspects of a good product stewardship on nanomaterials. The documents include joint papers prepared by VCI and the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA). The report...

On April 9, 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled Room at the Bottom? Potential State and Local Strategies for Managing the Risks and Benefits of Nanotechnology. According to the report, because of the slow pace of federal action to regulate development of nanotechnology, “there is ‘room at the bottom’ for state and local governments to move forward in pursuing regulatory and other oversight options.” Research for the report...

On March 25, 2008, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted fact sheets regarding several initiatives for which it seeks participants. NIOSH states that the initiatives are fully funded by NIOSH, and there is no monetary cost to the participant.  The first two fact sheets concern NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Field Research Team, which is available to conduct site visits at facilities involved in the research, manufacture, or use of various types of...

On March 12, 2008, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) released a supplementary guidance document for the Voluntary Reporting Scheme (VRS). DEFRA prepared the supplementary guidance document to complement the existing VRS guidance. Chapter 2 describes the rationale and benefits of the VRS. Chapter 3 provides a specific list of the relevant physical, chemical, toxicological, and ecotoxicological data to include when reporting under the...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will hold a Nanotechnology Customer Partnership meeting on April 22, 2008. According to PTO, it intends the Partnership to provide a forum to share ideas, experiences, and insights between individual users and PTO. PTO states that it does not intend to use the Partnership to arrive at a group consensus.  Individual opinions are sought from varying participants, and the meetings are intended to be informal in nature.  Due to space limitations, PTO...

Last week the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requested comments on its Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research and Guidance:  Filling the Knowledge Gaps (Strategic Plan).  NIOSH intends the Strategic Plan “to provide a tool for coordinating nanotechnology research across the Institute and to provide a guide for enhancing the development of new research efforts that will respond to the challenges of working with a new...

On February 29, 2008, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of a brochure entitled “Safe Nanotechnology in the Workplace: An Introduction for Employers, Managers, and Safety and Health Professionals.” The brochure addresses the following questions: whether nanoparticles are hazardous to workers; how workers can be exposed; whether nanoparticles can be measured; and whether worker exposures can be controlled. The brochure states that...

On February 26, 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars released a brief entitled Application of the Toxics Release Inventory to Nanomaterials, which examines whether the Emergency Planning and Community-Right to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) could be applied to nanomaterials. According to the brief, although several organizations have analyzed whether specific environmental laws could be used to...

The European Commission (EC) asked its Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) for a scientific opinion on the risk assessment of products of nanotechnologies. The request asks SCENIHR to identify and assess new information and update its opinions on the potential risks of products of nanotechnologies, “in particular, with respect to characterisation, eco-toxicology and toxicology as well as exposure assessments.” The EC’s request for an opinion...

On February 14, 2008, the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Technology released a final document entitled Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research, which describes the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) strategy for addressing priority research on the environment, health, and safety (EHS) aspects of nanomaterials. The NNI EHS Strategy assigns priority...

On February 13, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a draft report entitled Draft Nanomaterial Research Strategy (NRS), which is intended to guide EPA’s Office of Research and Development in nanomaterial research.  Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for external peer review, will convene a panel of experts and organize and conduct an independent expert external peer meeting on April 11, 2008, to review EPA’s draft NRS. Comments on EPA’s draft...

On February 8, 2008, the European Commission (EC) announced the adoption of a code of conduct for responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies (N&N) research. The EC recommends that member states adopt codes of conduct to govern N&N research.  The EC code of conduct is based on seven general principles that address issues such as sustainability, precaution, inclusiveness, and accountability. The code of conduct also provides guidelines that implement these...

In a January 28, 2008, report entitled EU Nanotechnology R&D in the Field of Health and Environmental Impact of Nanoparticles, the European Commission (EC) provides an overview of past and ongoing research projects funded by the Framework Programmes (FP), EU member states, candidate countries, and countries associated to FP6 or FP7 in the area of possible impacts in health, environment, and safety of nanoparticles. The report has information on 106 projects, 14 of which are from...

On February 22, 2008, the European Commission (EC) announced the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) Joint Technology Initiative (JTI), which is endorsed by the Council of Ministers and by the European Parliament. Over the next ten years, € 3 billion will be invested in nanoelectronics.  The ENIAC JIT is a public-private partnership that targets nanoelectronics.  Under the ENIAC JIT, the EC and European Union (EU) member states who wish to...

According to a January 22, 2008, Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entitled Engineered Nanoscale Materials and Derivative Products: Regulatory Challenges, questions about the need for, and ideal form of, nanotechnology regulations are “exceedingly difficult” to address, given the current state of scientific understanding. CRS considered challenges faced by scientists, entrepreneurs, and agency officials involved in the National Nanotechnology Program as they work to define the...

According to a report recently released by the Danish Ministry of Health and Prevention, nanotechnology research, development, and applications are covered by existing legislation. The report, which includes an English summary, reviews existing national and international legislation in the areas of foods, medicines, the environment, chemicals, and the working environment in relation to current knowledge of nanotechnological products and processes.  The report also includes a...

According to the December 22, 2007, fifth quarterly report for the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) Voluntary Reporting Scheme (VRS) for engineered nanoscale materials, DEFRA received no new submissions since publication of the previous quarterly report in September 2007. DEFRA is in the process of updating the VRS documentation to clarify the purpose and aims of the VRS and provide supplementary guidance for anyone submitting data. DEFRA intends...

In a December 3, 2007, letter, to the Secretaries of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), and Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Wisconsin State Representative Terese Berceau (D) asks for their assistance in creating a policy “to address potential environmental problems associated with the emerging field of nanotechnology.” Berceau refers to the ordinance adopted by Berkeley,...

On 3 January 2008, Lloyd’s released a report entitled Nanotechnology: Recent Developments, Risks and Opportunities, which examines the potential risks and opportunities in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Lloyd’s states that nanotechnology “promises to improve many industries including medicine, food technology, textiles, materials, cosmetics, defence and more, but the risks are still not fully understood.” The potential risks and opportunities, according to...

On December 19, 2007, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published an update entitled “NIOSH Informs, Leads Nanotechnology Actions by International Partner Organizations.” In the Update, NIOSH summarizes its recent contributions to international research:...