Archives

March 22, 2011

Dutch Urge EU to Act on Nanomaterials

In February 2011, the Dutch Environmental Safety and Risk Management Directorate sent a letter to the Directorate General (DG) Enterprise and DG Environment expressing concern regarding delays in the work of the Competent Authorities Sub-Group on Nanomaterials (CASG Nano) and the European Commission’s (EC) progress regarding clarifying the definition and status of nanomaterials. The Dutch Directorate states that an essential first step is to define what nanomaterials are and asks that the EC...
March 11, 2011

PEN Reports Increase in Nano-Enabled Consumer Products

On March 10, 2011, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) announced the most recent update to its consumer products inventory, which now includes more than 1,300 manufacturer-identified, nanotechnology-enabled products, ranging from conventional products, such as non-stick cookware, to more unique items, like self-cleaning window treatments. When PEN launched its inventory in March 2006, it included 212 products. PEN Director David Rejeski predicted that, if the current trend...
December 20, 2010

EC Committee Approves Opinion on Scientific Basis for the Definition of Nanomaterial

On December 8, 2010, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) approved its opinion on the scientific basis for the definition of the term “nanomaterial.” The opinion concludes that: To define an enforceable definition of “nanomaterial” for regulatory use, the opinion proposes to set an upper limit for nanomaterial size and to add to the proposed limit additional guidance specific for the intended...
November 8, 2010

PEN Releases Report on Voluntary Initiatives to Regulate Nanotechnology

On November 4, 2010, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled Voluntary Initiatives, Regulation, and Nanotechnology Oversight: Charting a Path, which reviews a number of voluntary options available for the oversight of nanotechnology products and processes. The report classifies the various types of voluntary initiatives and the partnerships that underlie them, and assesses the factors that are most likely to contribute to program success. The thesis of the...
September 27, 2010

OECD Releases Report on Current Developments and Activities on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials

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...
July 15, 2010

EC Opens Public Consultation on Scientific Basis for a Definition of Nanomaterial

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...
June 22, 2010

PCAST Seeks Comment on Technology’s Golden Triangle

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) seeks comment from stakeholders on how the federal government can best use its resources so three of the “newest and most promising technologies,” including nanotechnology, “provide the greatest economic benefits to society.” The President’s Innovation and Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC), which is part of PCAST, is soliciting information and ideas from stakeholders — including the research community,...
June 21, 2010

ECHA Publishes Technical Manual for Including Nanoforms in an IUCLID Dossier

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...
March 10, 2010

EC Requests Accelerated SCENIHR Scientific Opinion on the Scientific Basis for the Definition of the Term “Nanomaterial”

On March 1, 2010, the European Commission (EC) issued a request, via the accelerated procedure, for a scientific opinion on the scientific basis for the definition of the term “nanomaterial” from the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). According to the EC, its services “urgently need to elaborate a working definition of the term ‘nanomaterials’ to ensure the consistency of forthcoming regulatory developments to guide, as appropriate, the...