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The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology will hold a hearing on May 20, 2014, on “Nanotechnology:  From Laboratories to Commercial Products.” Scheduled witnesses include: Dr. Timothy Persons, Chief Scientist, United States Government Accountability Office; Dr. Lloyd Whitman, Interim Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office and Deputy Director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $5 million, four-year grant to investigators led by Arizona State University to study the life cycle of nanomaterials. According to EPA’s description of the award, the project involves an interdisciplinary team of chemists, toxicologists, scientists, engineers, and social scientists to evaluate the trade-offs between intended function of nanomaterials in products and risks to humans and the environment across their life...

On March 31, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it issued an order to Pathway Investment Corp. of Englewood, New Jersey to stop the sale of plastic food storage containers that have not been tested or registered with EPA, in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). According to EPA’s press release, the company’s Kinetic Go Green Premium Food Storage Containers and Kinetic Smartwist Series Containers contain...

On March 25, 2014, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) published a supplement to President Obama’s 2015 budget request submitted to Congress on March 4, 2014.  The supplement provides a description of the activities underway in 2013 and 2014 and planned for 2015 by the federal government agencies participating in the NNI, primarily from a programmatic and budgetary perspective.  NNI states that it is based on the NNI Strategic Plan and reports actual investments...

On March 6, 2014, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, introduced the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4159). The bill would establish, revise, and extend specified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs, as well as education, research, and training programs.  The bill would reauthorize the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) “to ensure the United States remains a leader in...

On February 25, 2014, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the results of an NSF and National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO)-funded independent study that identifies more than $1 trillion in global revenue from nano-enabled products in 2013. NSF states that, to help quantify the global growth in nanotechnology research and development, Lux Research released a new report on global spending for emerging nanotechnology and the next generation of nano-enabled...

On February 28, 2014, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) announced the release of the 2014 National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Strategic Plan.  The NNI Strategic Plan represents the consensus of the participating agencies as to the high-level goals and priorities of the NNI and specific objectives for at least the next three years.  It is intended to provide an integrated, interagency approach informing the nanotechnology-specific strategic plans of NNI...

On February 12, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued, through a direct final rule, significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 35 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). The 35 substances include four identified as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (generic) that were the subject of a December 3, 2012, TSCA Section 5(e) consent order. The consent order requires the use of personal protective equipment...

On February 7, 2014, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Nanomanufacturing: Emergence and Implications for U.S. Competitiveness, the Environment, and Human Health, which provides highlights from a Congressionally-requested forum on specific issues in nanotechnology manufacturing that was held July 23-24, 2013. The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology asked the GAO and the National Academies to convene the forum and elicit the...

On December 7, 2013, the Journal of Nanoparticle Research published online an article entitled “Occupational safety and health criteria for responsible development of nanotechnology.” The authors, who are affiliated with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), describe five criterion actions that they believe should be practiced by decision-makers to ensure the responsible development of nanotechnology: “(1) anticipate, identify, and track potentially...

On December 2-3, 2013, the U.S.-EU Communities of Research held a workshop intended to further develop and support their activities. The goal of the workshop was to publicize progress towards their goals and objectives, clarify and communicate future plans, share best practices, and identify areas of cross-Community collaboration. Participants included American and European scientists and policy makers from academia, research institutes, industry, and governments. The presentations...

On December 20, 2013, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a document entitled Protecting the Nanotechnology Workforce: NIOSH Nanotechnology Research and Guidance Strategic Plan, 2013-2016. NIOSH describes the document as “the roadmap being used to advance basic understanding of the toxicology and workplace exposures involved so that appropriate risk management practices can be implemented during discovery, development, and...

On December 10, 2013, the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) will hold a webinar entitled “Nanoscale EHS: Environmental Health and Safety Essentials Every Practitioner Is Obligated to Know.”  The webinar description notes that possible environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications associated with nanoscale activities are resulting in a rapidly evolving regulatory climate.  The webinar will examine nanotechnology and its applications, possible EHS implications,...

On November 19, 2013, the National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Technology, and Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology requested public comments on the draft 2014 National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan provides the framework within which each National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) agency will carry out its nanotechnology programs and is intended to sustain coordination of interagency activities. The Strategic Plan...

The Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) is currently seeking authors, presenters, and panelists for its 107th Annual Conference and Exhibition, which will be held June 24-27, 2014, in Long Beach, California.  The A&WMA Intercommittee Task Force (ITF) on Nanoscale Science and Engineering is sponsoring a track in the technical program that will span a wide array of subjects, including environmental policy, measurement, health effects, monitoring, management, and safety...

On November 8, 2013, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a report entitled Current Strategies for Engineering Controls in Nanomaterial Production and Downstream Handling Processes, which identifies and describes strategies for the engineering control of worker exposure during the production or use of engineered nanomaterials. NIOSH notes that there are currently more than 1,000 nanomaterial-containing consumer products available, including “makeup,...

On November 7, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted in part and denied in part the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) conditional registration of HeiQ AGS-20 and AGS-20 U (collectively, AGS-20) nanosilver products. The court held that “substantial evidence” supported EPA’s decision to use the characteristics of toddlers rather than infants in determining whether AGS-20 placed...

On October 28, 2013, the Wilson Center announced that the updated Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory contains 1,628 consumer products that have been introduced to the market since 2005, which is a 24 percent increase since the last update in 2010. The Wilson Center states that the re-launched inventory “seeks to address scientific uncertainty with contributions from those involved with nanomaterials production, use, and analysis.” The Project on Emerging...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) posted a blog item on October 24, 2013, concerning the use of nanotechnology to develop new drugs. According to the item, “[t]here are already many products made using materials at the nanoscale, including new kinds of clothing, packaging materials, and light-weight, but strong, building materials.” CDER conducted a series of risk assessment and risk management exercises concerning...

On October 21, 2013, Particle and Fibre Toxicology posted an article entitled “Carbon nanotube dosimetry: from workplace exposure assessment to inhalation toxicology.”  The authors, who are affiliated with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), note that there are currently no known end-point effects in humans following carbon nanotube (CNT) exposure, leading to extrapolation from rodent studies. The purpose of the study was to determine...