DuPont and ED Will Hold Nano Risk Management Training Workshops

Posted on March 24, 2008 by Lynn L. Bergeson

DuPont and Environmental Defense (ED) will hold two interactive workshops on nano risk management. The workshops are intended to give participants the tools they need to:

  • Understand (and explain to others) why nano-specific risk management is necessary;
  • Assemble and leverage the internal and external resources to implement nano-specific risk management; and
  • Begin implementing nano-specific risk management in an efficient and effective manner.

The workshops will include:

  • Interactive discussions of how to implement nano-specific risk management;
  • Case studies of nano-specific risk management in use by companies and governments; and
  • Sources of additional help for companies adopting these approaches.

The first workshop will be held April 2, 2008, at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition in San Francisco, California. A second workshop will be held April 8, 2008, at the Toxics Use Reduction Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Environmental Defense Suggests Potential Model for Restructuring NNI

Posted on December 4, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson
On November 19, 2007, Environmental Defense (ED) issued a press release that states that the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is not effectively addressing the potential risks of nanotechnology, and that a potential model for resolving the conflict between NNI’s dual charges to both promote and oversee the technology could be drawn from the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Like the NNI, the AEC, first established in 1946, was tasked with both encouraging the development and use of nuclear power and regulating its safety. Concerns about this dual charge led Congress to abolish the AEC in 1975, and to assign its risk research and oversight functions to a new entity, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In the press release, ED suggests that an entity within NNI, “either newly formed or significantly elevated in status,” could be given independent budgetary and management authority, responsibility, accountability, and resources to develop and direct the overall federal nanomaterial risk research strategy.
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House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Relationship Between Environmental and Health Policy and Nanotechnology

Posted on November 6, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson
On October 31, 2007, the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Research and Science Education Subcommittee held a hearing on the relationship between environmental and health policy and nanotechnology. The Subcommittee examined how the U.S. can stay at the forefront of scientific research and development, while at the same time establishing priorities and a detailed plan for research on the potential environmental and health risks of engineered nanomaterials. The Science and Technology Committee held two previous hearings on this issue -- one in 2005 and another in 2006 -- with the objective of reviewing the importance of risk research for achieving the potential benefits of nanotechnology and the efforts of the interagency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to put in place a research strategy. Progress in developing the research strategy has been slow, however. The hearing explored the status of the planning efforts and received suggestions from outside witnesses on ways to improve the process.

Witnesses at the hearing included:

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California Hosts Symposium on Potential Hazards of Nanoparticles in the Environment

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson
On October 3, 2007, the California Department for Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) held a symposium on the potential hazards of nanoparticles in the environment. According to DTSC, exploring environmentally safe processes in nanotechnology manufacturing is a component of the California Green Chemistry Initiative.  Under the Initiative, a multi-agency state team is exploring a different approach to environmental protection -- transitioning away from managing toxic chemicals at the end of the life-cycle, to reducing or eliminating their use altogether.  DTSC states that this new approach is similar to measures adopted by the European Union (EU) and the Canadian government to encourage greater manufacturer responsibility.

Presentations at the symposium included:
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EPA Holds Public Meeting on the NMSP

Posted on August 6, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson
On August 2, 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened a public meeting on the Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The meeting, which EPA had announced in a July 12, 2007, Federal Register notice, was well attended, with approximately 100 people in attendance. After introductory remarks by several EPA officials, various organizations presented their views on the NMSP and the associated draft documents made available by EPA on July 12, 2007. Among those offering comments were the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Nanotechnology Panel, Environmental Defense (ED), Consumers Union, the NanoBusiness Alliance, the International Council on Nanotechnology, and Dr. J. Clarence Davies of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN).
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Final Nano Risk Framework Released

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson
On June 21, 2007, Environmental Defense (ED) and DuPont, who commenced a partnership on nanotechnology in September 2005, released the final Nano Risk Framework, which establishes “a systematic and disciplined process for identifying, managing, and reducing potential environmental, health, and safety risks of engineered nanomaterials across all stages of a product’s ‘lifecycle.’” The Framework is aimed primarily at organizations, both private and public, that are actively working with nanomaterials and developing associated products and applications. ED and DuPont believe that “adoption of the Frameworkcan promote responsible development of nanotechnology products, facilitate public acceptance, and support the formulation of a practical model for reasonable government policy on nanotechnology safety.”
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ED Will Hold Webcast on REACH, TSCA, and CEPA Best Practices

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson
Environmental Defense (ED) will hold a webcast regarding its recent report, Not That Innocent: A Comparative Analysis of Canadian, European Union and United States Policies on Industrial Chemicals, on May 24, 2007, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT). The webcast will include a 45-minute presentation and a question and answer period. Dr. Richard Denison, Senior Scientist at ED, will present the findings and discuss his report, which compares the European Union’s new Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

Best practices for and a comparison of how each of these policies addresses the following “core functions” will be presented:

  • Identify and prioritize chemicals of concern;
  • Track chemicals and their production and use;
  • Foster the generation and submission of risk-relevant information;
  • Assess information to determine hazard/exposure/risk;
  • Impose controls to mitigate risk; and
  • Share and disclose information while protecting confidential business information.

Implications of the findings for chemicals policy reform will also be discussed.

To participate, contact Cathy Malina by COB May 22, 2007. Details and a toll-free call-in number will then be forwarded prior to the call. In addition to a telephone line, Internet access is needed to view presentation materials. If this is not possible, please advise Ms. Malina so alternative arrangements can be made.
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