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On February 17, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it awarded $5.5 million to three consortia to support innovative research on nanotechnology. EPA states that, in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s (UK) Natural Environment Research Council, it is leading this scientific research effort to understand better the potential risks to people’s health and the environment. The grants EPA awarded are intended to help researchers determine whether certain...

The South Korean Ministry of Environment released on January 18, 2011, the National Chemicals Control Basic Plan, which it intends to help it implement the United Nations’ sustainable chemical control rules under the 2006 Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). According to the Ministry, the Plan will reduce the amount of human carcinogens released into the environment annually by 32 percent by 2020, and will expand the national toxicity information database...

On January 26, 2011, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the availability of a new standard, ISO 10808:2010, entitled “Nanotechnologies — Characterization of nanoparticles in inhalation exposure chambers for inhalation toxicity testing.” The standard is intended to ensure that the results of inhalation toxicity tests of airborne nanoparticles are reliable and harmonized worldwide. According to ISO, the standard “establishes a battery of inhalation...

The European Commission (EC) announced that it will hold the fourth annual Nanotechnology Safety for Success Dialogue Workshop on March 29-30, 2011, in Brussels, Belgium. According to the EC, many market modelers identify nanotechnologies as drivers of economic growth, and as a consequence, many governments have adopted ambitious plans intended to ensure the commercial success of nanotechnologies. At the same time, the number of potential and real applications is...

On January 25, 2011, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) announced that French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) experts have developed a control banding tool specific to nanomaterials that can potentially be used in any work environment in which nanomaterials are manufactured or used. With control banding, new products are classified into “bands,” which are defined after comparison with the hazard level of known...

On January 14, 2011, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) began a public consultation on a draft document entitled “Guidance on Risk Assessment Concerning Potential Risks Arising from Applications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies to Food and Feed.” According to EFSA, the draft guidance offers practical guidance for the risk assessment of applications involving the use of nanoscience and nanotechnology in the area of food and feed (including food additives, enzymes, flavorings, food...

On December 17, 2010, ETC Group published a report entitled The Big Downturn?  Nanogeopolitics, which updates its 2005 nanogeopolitics survey. According to ETC Group, since 2005, policymakers have begun to acknowledge that fast-tracking nanotechnology has come at a price and that some sort of regulation is necessary to address at least some of the risks posed.  ETC Group states, though, that “governments and industry, hand in hand, have come too far and invested too much to give...

Nature Nanotechnology has posted a pre-publication version of an article entitled “Science Policy Considerations for Responsible Nanotechnology Decisions,” which is authored by regulatory officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), European Commission (EC), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The authors offer their perspectives on possible approaches to maximizing the environmental benefits of nanotechnology and products that contain...

Australia’s National Industrial Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) recently issued guidance on the new chemical requirements for the notification and assessment of industrial nanomaterials that are considered to be new chemicals. The new administrative arrangements will be effective from January 1, 2011, and will apply to any new chemical that falls under the following working definition of “industrial nanomaterial”: . . . industrial materials...

The Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has posted a December 21, 2010, guidance document for preparing safety data sheets (SDS) for synthetic nanomaterials. Safety Data Sheet (SDS): Guidelines for Synthetic Nanomaterials is intended to demonstrate the information necessary to ensure the safe handling of nano-objects and products that contain nano-objects; offer assistance on how the relevant information can be identified and in which form and which place...