All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On December 15, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it fined Kinetic Solutions Inc., doing business as Rabbit Air, $82,400 for allegedly selling unregistered and misbranded pesticides and making unproven claims about their effectiveness. According to EPA, Kinetic Solutions Inc. made illegal public health claims for its air purifier branded “Nano Silver Pre Filter” and the filter’s ability to control over 650 types of bacteria, a violation of the Federal...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted its Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Plan, which identifies mandated and selected assignment topics continuing from fiscal year (FY) 2010 and scheduled to be started during FY 2011. According to the Annual Plan, carryover assignments from FY 2010 include EPA’s approach to nanomaterials. The Annual Plan includes no additional information regarding the assignment, which is not included in its FY 2010 Annual Plan....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a December 13, 2010, Federal Register notice that it will hold a public information exchange meeting to receive comments and questions on the Nanomaterial Case Studies on January 4, 2011, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. According to EPA, the meeting will provide it an opportunity to highlight the Nanomaterial Case Studies and how EPA is using the studies as part of an ongoing process to refine a...

NanoBusiness Alliance included Lynn L. Bergeson in its recent interview series. The interview covers a wide range of issues related to nanotech environmental, health and safety, including such “hot” topics as establishing a nano nomenclature that is uniform, thoughtful, and useful for regulatory purposes; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) three Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proposals that will have an immediate and significant impact on the commercialization of...

On November 18, 2010, the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate nano-copper pesticides. ICTA, which petitioned EPA in May 2008 to regulate nano-silver and other nano-pesticide products, singles out three registrations obtained by Osmose, Inc. for “micronized” copper carbonate. According to ICTA, “it does not appear that Osmose advised EPA when it applied for these three registrations that any of...

On November 22, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a proposed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) reporting rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. According to EPA’s April 26, 2010, Regulatory Agenda, the proposed rule would require persons who manufacture nanoscale materials notify EPA of certain information including available use, production volume, methods of manufacture and processing, exposure and release information, and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted a June 17, 2010, document entitled “Interim Technical Guidance for Assessing Screening Level Environmental Fate and Transport of, and General Population, Consumer, and Environmental Exposure to Nanomaterials.” According to the Interim Guidance, EPA prepared it “to serve as a guide when developing screening level exposure and environmental fate and transport assessments for nanomaterials,” such as those submitted under the Toxic...

On September 17, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final significant new use rules (SNUR) for two chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). The two chemical substances are identified generically as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (PMN P08177) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) (PMN P08328). Persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process either of these substances for a use that is designated as a...

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) has rescheduled its workshop on state and federal nanomaterial activities for September 22, 2010. CDTSC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are cosponsoring the workshop to discuss the results of California’s carbon nanotube (CNT) information call-in, future data call-in requests for additional nanomaterials, and federal efforts related to CNTs for...

According to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (CDTSC) website, it is drafting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to facilitate information exchange, collaboration, and outline a working partnership on emerging chemicals, green chemistry, and materials management. Under the new MOU, EPA and CDTSC will: 1.  Establish chemical specific teams for priority chemicals of mutual interest;...