On July 7, 2010, the European Parliament (EP) voted that nanoscale ingredients should be banned from food in the European Union (EU) until the health and environmental risks they might pose are better understood, and that any nanoscale ingredients that are eventually authorized should be clearly labeled as such. The EP voted on several amendments to draft legislation concerning the authorization of novel foods, including a provision that would prohibit food from cloned animals or their...
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On July 2, 2010, the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC) announced the availability of a reference report entitled Considerations on a Definition of Nanomaterial for Regulatory Purposes. JRC prepared the report in response to a request from the European Parliament (EP). JRC states that the aim of the report is to review and discuss issues and challenges related to a definition of “nanomaterial,” and to provide practical guidance for a definition for...
July 1, 2010
ANSI Webinar Will Discuss Draft Labeling Guidance
On July 9, 2010, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will host a webinar to discuss draft international guidance on the labeling of manufactured nano-objects and products containing manufactured nano-objects. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee (TC) 352 Nanotechnologies and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC 229 Nanotechnologies are jointly developing a Technical Specification entitled “Guidance on the labeling of...
On June 8, 2010, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced the publication of two materials for use in the OECD Sponsorship Programme. The first is a revision of the Guidance Manual for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials. According to OECD, the revised Guidance “is intended to support the testing undertaken in the context of OECD’S Sponsorship Programme and to ensure that the information collected from this testing programme be reliable, accurate,...
On June 11, 2010, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the availability of a technical manual for including nanoforms in an International Uniform Chemical Information Database (IUCLID) dossier. The Nanomaterials in IUCLID 5.2 Industry User Manual “gives practical instruction to [Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)] registrants on how to include information on different forms of a substance in a IUCLID 5.2 dossier.” The...
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...
June 17, 2010
Germany’s BfR Recommends Manufacturers Not Use Nanoscale Silver Ions in Consumer Products
On June 10, 2010, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) issued a press release entitled “Nanosilver has no place in food, textiles or cosmetics,” which states “BfR currently advises against using nanoscale silver ions in consumer products.” According to BfR, manufacturers of consumer products “have made use of the antimicrobial properties of silver ions for some time now,” and “silver particles in the nanorange have likewise been used.” BfR states: “It...
June 8, 2010
EP Committee Adds Nanosilver and Long Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes to Proposed RoHS Recast
On June 2, 2010, the European Parliament (EP) Committee on the Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety approved the proposed recast of the Directive on the Restrictions of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, with 55 votes in favor, one against, and two abstentions. The Committee adopted amendments adding nanosilver and long multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) to Annex IV, despite the fact that nanomaterials were not included in earlier proposals. In...
During the Helsinki Chemicals Forum 2010, Jukka Malm, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Assessment Director stated that ECHA is revising its Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) guidance documents to include technical instructions to help companies include nanomaterials in their registration dossiers and other compliance obligations for substances they make or import. According to Malm, ECHA is following “international developments,” particularly work...
May 20, 2010
ILO Publishes Booklet On Emerging Hazards
On April 27, 2010, ILO published a booklet entitled “Emerging Risks and New Patterns of Prevention in a Changing World of Work,” which summarizes new occupational safety and health issues, including those related to technical innovations such as nanotechnology. The booklet states: There is a big knowledge gap between advances in the application of nanotechnology and its impact on health. Due to the extensive and highly diversified use of nanomaterials in industry, the number of...