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NanoHarmony held a webinar on March 17, 2021, on “Identification and solving barriers for translating science to regulation and standards.”  According to NanoHarmony, the webinar focused on helping to identify the obstacles faced by stakeholders in developing new test methods and having them introduced as new test guidelines and guidance documents.  A recording of the webinar is now available online, as well as the following slides: Claus Svendsen, CEH, welcome and...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the 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 20th meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in September 2020.  Below are highlights from the Tour de Table: Canada: Canada is developing a nanomaterial...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson  EPA announced on January 8, 2021, that it released an updated and improved version of OncoLogic™, a system used to evaluate a chemical’s potential to cause cancer. EPA states that, in partnership with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), it developed “a more user-friendly version of the most widely used piece of this system, greatly expanding its usability across the agency and the scientific community.”...

On February 25, 2021, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will hold a webinar on “Assessing the dispersion stability and dissolution (rate) of nanomaterials in the environment” to discuss the scope, content, and use of Test Guideline No. 318:  Dispersion Stability of Nanomaterials in Simulated Environmental Media and its accompanying guidance document.  According to OECD, “[t]he increased production and wide usage of manufactured...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled Moving Towards a Safe(r) Innovation Approach (SIA) for More Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nano-enabled Products.  According to the Executive Summary, the report “presents common working descriptions to ensure a common understanding of concepts such as: Safe(r) Innovation Approach and its elements, Safe(r)-by-Design and Regulatory Preparedness.”  The report compiles existing risk...

The European Union (EU)-funded projects NanoHarmony and NANOMET-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have jointly organized a September 16, 2020, webinar on “The Pathway to Test Guidelines:  from science to standards for nanomaterials.”  Participants will learn how OECD develops Test Guidelines, using case studies from the Test Guidelines that are supported through the projects for expansion into nanomaterials.  The webinar will explain how novel...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published two guidance documents in its series on testing and assessment: Guidance Document on Aquatic and Sediment Toxicological Testing of Nanomaterials (No. 317): The guidance document addresses practical aspects of carrying out valid tests with manufactured nanomaterials, as well as modifications or additions to OECD Test Guideline procedures intended to improve incrementally the accuracy, intra-laboratory...

On August 19 and 20, 2020, the American National Standards Institute Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) will hold a virtual workshop on advanced materials.  ANSI states that advanced materials are of growing interest as there is increasing recognition that size alone does not define the unique properties of a material.  More and more, governments and organizations that originally focused on nanomaterials are now also focusing on advanced materials and emerging...

On June 25, 2020, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) Program Performance One-Pager (PPOP).  NTRC conducts research to understand the potential effects on human health of exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENM) and develops methods to control or eliminate exposures.  According to the PPOP, NTRC’s accomplishments include conducting a survey to gather information about companies’ safety and...

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) began a survey on June 4, 2020, inviting commercial actors within the nanomaterials arena (producers, users, and professional providers) to contribute their organization’s perception and use of the term “Advanced Materials.”  According to NIA, there is increasing policy focus on the term “Advanced Materials,” with national governments and international frameworks starting to discuss potential safety and regulatory...

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on July 7, 2020, on “Introducing the NanoHarmony project.”  Funded through Horizon 2020, NanoHarmony began on April 1, 2020.  NanoHarmony brings together 14 expert partners from ten European countries and will work alongside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to support the development of test guidelines and guidance documents for...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on May 20, 2020, that a recent study has analyzed existing research on whether nanomaterials used in consumer products and at workplaces are absorbed through the skin.  The study was commissioned by EUON and carried out by the RPA consortium of Triskelion and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).  According to EUON, the study found that the lack of standardized,...

On May 4, 2022, NanoHarmony will hold a webinar in its series of webinars covering the different phases that an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline (TG) progresses through during its journey from a science-based initial idea through to use by industry to fulfill regulatory obligations. This webinar will cover phases 2 and 3 of the TG process, technical development and commenting and approval. Speakers will include: Chair Claus Svendsen, United Kingdom...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) posted an article on April 6, 2020, announcing the availability of a study that found a lack of data on female fertility.  The study, A critical review of studies on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of nanomaterials, was commissioned by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and carried out by DHI A/S and the Danish National Research Center for the Working Environment.  The scope of this project was to...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued a press release on October 8, 2019, reminding companies that by January 1, 2020, companies must provide more information on nanomaterials on the European Union (EU) market under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation.  The new information requirements concern companies that manufacture or import nanoforms of substances that are subject to registration under REACH.  As...

In May 2019, the Nordic Council of Ministers published a working paper entitled The applicability of the GHS classification criteria to nanomaterials.  The goal of the project was to review the applicability of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) to manufactured nanomaterials, taking into account the progress of international scientific work.  The report notes that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working...

The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published a press release on June 6, 2019, regarding its contribution to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) development of Test Guidelines for the safety assessment of nanomaterials.  According to the press release, scientists from JRC have actively participated in discussions of the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) since early on.  The press release...

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...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has posted the following reports in its Series on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials: 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 2019.  It aims to summarize relevant information on activities...

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...