All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On November 16, 2010, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) released revisions to its safer consumer product alternatives regulations for a 15-day comment period. Of particular note, CDTSC has removed all references to nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the proposed regulations, which previously defined nanomaterials and included “physical, chemical, or quantum properties specific to nanomaterials” on the list of prioritization factors that CDTSC would consider in...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has posted an October 2010 Impact Sheet entitled “NIOSH Research Methods Demonstrate that Breathing Nanoparticles May Result in Damaging Health Effects,” which reports the results of recently published research concerning the health effects of inhaling single-walled carbon nanotubes. According to the Impact Sheet, NIOSH scientists invented a way to suspend nanotubes in air, thus allowing for control of the concentration of...

The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (IJOEH) has posted a special issue concerning human and environmental exposure assessment for nanomaterials. The issue includes articles such as “Understanding Workplace Processes and Factors that Determine Exposures to Engineered Nanomaterials,” “Nanotechnology and Exposure Science: What Is Needed to Fill the Research and Data Gaps for Consumer Products,” “Imaging and Characterization of...

In a September 27, 2010, press release, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it will award $9.4 million over three years to support four research projects in regulatory science.  NIH will make the awards in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will contribute approximately $950,000.  According to the press release, the projects include research on nanoparticles and their characterization. NIH states that the projects were chosen “because...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced on September 22, 2010, that it entered into a formal partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for High-Rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) that is intended to provide companies with practical research and guidance to promote occupational health and safety in nanotechnology. Through the new partnership, University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell, CHN, and NIOSH will “address safety issues so that...

In a September 22, 2010, report entitled Current Developments/Activities on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides information on current and planned activities related to the safety of manufactured nanomaterials in OECD member and non-member countries that attended the seventh meeting of OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) on July 7-9, 2010, in Paris, France.  The document also includes...

The August 2010 issue of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Environmental Factor includes an article regarding the Intramural NanoHealth Signature Program, which is intended to investigate the health effects of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) in susceptible populations. According to the article, ENMs are increasingly found in medications, cosmetics, electronics, and other consumer products, creating environmental as well as occupational...

On July 12, 2010, the European Commission (EC) opened a public consultation on the pre-consultation opinion of the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) entitled “Scientific Basis for the Definition of the Term ‘Nanomaterial.’” The EC states that its services need a working definition for the term “nanomaterial” to ensure the consistency of forthcoming regulatory developments, to guide the effective implementation of existing...

On July 1, 2010, the NanoBusiness Alliance issued a Position Statement on Nanomaterials Product Sustainability, which reflects its members’ “enduring commitment to managing effectively the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications of nanotechnology.” The NanoBusiness Alliance is committed to working with governments and nanomaterials stakeholders to manage the sustainable development and use of nanomaterials in a responsible way. The Position Statement states: As an...

On June 6, 2010, the European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (JRC-IHCP) and the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the European Union (EU)-China Food Safety Scientific Seminar held at the Shanghai World Expo.  According to JRC-IHCP, “[b]oth institutions provide technical support for policy makers and aim to reinforce their co-operation in scientific research for consumer...