German Chemical Industry Association Releases Nanomaterials Product Stewardship Document

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Lynn L. Bergeson

On March 11, 2008, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) released a report entitled Responsible Production and Use of Nanomaterials, which is a series of documents intended to provide guidance on all aspects of a good product stewardship on nanomaterials. The documents include joint papers prepared by VCI and the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA). The report includes the following documents:

Principles Document:

  • Implementing Responsible Care® for a Responsible Production and Use of Nanomaterials

Regulatory Documents:

  • Requirements of the REACH Regulation on Substances Which Are Manufactured or Imported also as Nanomaterials
  • Guidance for a Tiered Gathering of Hazard Information for the Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials
  • Guidance for Handling and Use of Nanomaterials at the Workplace
  • Guidance for the Passing on of Information along the Supply Chain in the Handling of Nanomaterials via Safety Data Sheets
  • Strategy Paper of the German Chemical Industry on the Standardization of Nanomaterials

Documents on Safety Research:

  • Roadmap for Safety Research on Nanomaterials
  • Environmental Aspects of Nanoparticles

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Draft Guidance Addresses Nanomaterials in the Workplace

Posted on October 18, 2007 by Lynn L. Bergeson

The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin/BAuA) (FIOSH) and the German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie/VCI) (GCIA) have issued draft document entitled Guidance for Handling and Use of Nanomaterials at the Workplace. The Guidance is intended to provide an overview of occupational health and safety measures in the production and use of nanomaterials. The basis for the Guidance is a survey FIOSH and GCIA conducted in 2006 regarding occupational health and safety measures for handling and using nanomaterials. The Guidance provides recommendations for workers’ protection measures in the handling and use of nanomaterials, based on hazard assessments. The Guidance discusses the state of methods available for measuring nanoparticles and provides a flowchart that recommends specific hazard assessment activities based on the responses to flowchart questions. The Guidance will be developed further by mid-2008 to meet the advancing state of knowledge of nanoparticles.

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