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The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) has created a Nanopinion section, where it invites views from different contributors ranging from policy-makers and authorities to industry and civil society on their work and priorities related to nanomaterials on the EU market.  The first item, posted on September 16, 2019, is “EUON:  past, present and future,” written by Bjorn Hansen, Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).  As reported in our...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on July 3, 2019, that several new features and improvements are now publicly available in its chemicals database, including new information in substance Infocards.  ECHA has updated the substance Infocards with a new nanomaterial form section that shows whether the substance is placed on the European Economic Area (EEA) market in nanoform and provides links to the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON).  As...

On July 12, 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published in the EFSA Journal its “Scientific opinion on the proposed amendment of the EU specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171) with respect to the inclusion of additional parameters related to its particle size distribution.”  The opinion addresses the assessment of data provided by interested business operators in support of an amendment of the European Union (EU) specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171)...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on July 3, 2019, that it has added a new search tool for nanomaterials to its website.  According to EUON, it will enable regulators to form a better view of available data and give consumers access to chemicals safety information.  The search tool combines data submitted by companies in their registration dossiers under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. In June 2019, the European Commission (EC) Technical Expert Group (TEG) on Sustainable Finance, published its Report on EU Green Bond Standard. The report proposes the creation of a European Union (EU) Green Bond Standard (EU-GBS) to address barriers to market development of green financial products. Also proposing the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment — “Taxonomy Regulation” — TEG makes...

As reported in our May 30, 2019, blog item, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published several reports in its Series on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials, including Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials — Tour de Table.  The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 19th meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in February...

Registration is now available for the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) June 11, 2019, webinar on “Practical Applications of 15 Years of NanoEHS Research:  Measurements of Potential Ecotoxicological Risk.”  The speaker will be Dr. Elijah Petersen, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Dr. Treye Thomas, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and NNI Coordinator for Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research, will moderate.  The webinar will...

On March 5-6, 2019, a workshop on “Fostering EU‐U.S. Cooperation in Nanosafety” was held.  According to the workshop report, the workshop intended to answer two main questions: The discussion was based on the state of implementation of the 2013 report, Nanosafety in Europe 2015‐2025:  Towards Safe and Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Innovations, and current nanosafety activities coordinated by U.S. federal agencies participating in the U.S. National...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 17, 2019, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France, and Frank Edelson, Chair of the Network for Greening the Financial Services (NGFS), published an open letter on the financial implications of global warming.  Co-signed by the NGFS coalition, consisting of 34 central banks, the letter warns of global warming’s potential damage to infrastructure and private property, negative human...

On January 22-24, 2019, a Mexico-European Union (EU) workshop on nanosafety was held in Mexico.  The aim of the workshop was to establish a stronger connection between the Mexican and European research communities within the context of bringing scientific information to the risk assessment, risk management, and policy levels.  According to the workshop report, Mexico is eligible to participate in the EU’s Horizon 2020 and Ninth EU Framework Programs, and the January workshop was...

On March 7, 2019, in the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU), the Eighth Chamber of the General Court issued two judgments in cases regarding access of confidential information related to glyphosate.  One of these decisions (Tweedale v. EFSA, Case T-716/14) related to a 2014 request for two toxicity studies that were “key studies” in the determination of glyphosate’s acceptable daily intake (ADI).  The second decision (Hautala et al. v. EFSA, Case T-329/17)...

The 2019 U.S.-European Union (EU) NanoEHS Communities of Research (COR) Workshop will take place October 15-16, 2019, at the Europole de l’Arbois in Aix en Provence, France.  The workshop is organized by the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and the European Commission (EC).  The agenda for the October 2018 Bridging NanoEHS Research Efforts Joint Workshop and the following presentations are available:...

The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) opens its scientific laboratories and facilities, including its Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, to people working in academia and research organizations, industry, and small and medium enterprises (SME).  JRC opened a call on February 1, 2019, for the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory for the following priority topics: The call ends on May 3, 2019. JRC opened a call on March 4, 2019, for the following training...

The February 2019 issue of the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Newsletter includes an interview with Eva Valsami-Jones, Professor of Environmental Nanoscience at the University of Birmingham and leader of the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster Coordination Team, on research on the safety of nanomaterials.  The NanoSafety Cluster coordinates the funding of research projects at the European level that address the safety aspects of nanomaterials and the related...

The February 2019 issue of Computational Toxicology includes an article entitled “Grouping of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to read-across genotoxicity:  A case study to evaluate the applicability of regulatory guidance.”  The article describes a case study, performed by scientists at the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC), to explore and illustrate read-across of genotoxicity data by following the “Recommendations for nanomaterials applicable to the Guidance on...

The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published on February 13, 2019, a report entitled An overview of concepts and terms used in the European Commission’s definition of nanomaterial.  The report supports the implementation of the EC’s Recommendation on a definition of nanomaterial (2011/696/EU).  It addresses the definition’s key concepts and terms and discusses them in a regulatory context.  Corresponding to the broad scope of the definition, the report states...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on January 30, 2019, that it has submitted a restriction proposal for microplastic particles that are intentionally added to mixtures used by consumers or professionals.  According to ECHA, if adopted, the restriction could reduce the amount of microplastics released to the environment in the European Union (EU) “by about 400 thousand tonnes over 20 years.”  ECHA states that its assessment found that intentionally added...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) provides information on nanomaterials to a wide audience on subjects including safety, innovation, and research.  It also covers the existing EU legislation on nanomaterials and the presence and uses of specific substances on the EU market.  EUON is currently conducting a survey to allow stakeholders to express their views on how EUON is performing and how it could be developed to meet their needs better.  EUON is funded by...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) conducts up to three studies annually.  The studies are intended to address knowledge gaps relating to nanomaterials that are of interest to the general public and the research community.  EUON announced on January 14, 2019, that it is now looking for topic suggestions that could be addressed in its upcoming studies.  EUON is looking for studies that address: EUON states that the scope of the study can be on...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 13, 2018, the European Parliament (EP) announced its approval of new targets for renewables and energy efficiency rates to be achieved by 2030.  According to the press release, “by 2030, energy efficiency in the [European Union (EU)] has to have improved by 32.5%, whereas the share of energy from renewables should be at least 32% of the EU’s gross final consumption.”  Highlighting the crucial role of second generation biofuels...