CDTSC Will Hold Nanotech III Symposium

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Lynn L. Bergeson

On March 19, 2009, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) will hold a full-day nanotechnology symposium on nanomaterials regulation from a variety of perspectives. According to CDTSC, the symposium will focus on the regulatory aspects of nanotechnology, the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and CDTSC’s chemical information call-in program including nanoscale materials. CDTSC states that federal interest in nanomaterial regulation and California’s efforts “provide a great opportunity for fostering technological advances that recognize environmental and public health concerns. The goal is to create a partnership where we can enhance research where needed and promote sustainable processes as well as applications.” Registration is required. The symposium will also be available via web cast.

Speakers include:

  • Assembly Member Mike Feuer, 42nd District
  • Kristan Markey, EPA Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP)
  • Richard Denison, Ph.D., Environmental Defense Fund (ED)
  • Professor Timothy Malloy, UCLA
  • Mark Bünger, Lux Research
  • Mary Beth Miller, Unidym, Inc.
  • Sheila Davis, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
  • Eric M.V. Hoek, Ph.D., UCLA

 
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EPA Issues Consent Order for Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Posted on October 16, 2008 by Lynn L. Bergeson

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently posted two blog items regarding a consent order negotiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The October 9, 2008, item states that EPA intends to issue a sanitized version of a consent order negotiated with a producer of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). According to EDF, the order was prompted by EPA’s review of a premanufacturing notification (PMN).

EDF obtained a redacted copy of the consent order, and provides the following summary of the requirements:

  • Conduct a 90-day inhalation toxicity test in rats;
  • Supply EPA with a one-gram sample of its MWCNTs and its Material Safety Data Sheet;
  • Submit certain characterization data within six months after commencing full manufacture;
  • Require its workers to wear protective gloves and clothing shown to be impermeable and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved respirators;
  • Use the substance only for a particular use, claimed confidential but generically identified as a “property modifier” in electronics and polymer composites; and
  • Provide the nanomaterial only to entities that agree to the same use restrictions and worker protection conditions.
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