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February 26, 2008

EC Asks for Scientific Opinion on Risk Assessment of Products of Nanotechnologies

Lynn L. Bergeson

The European Commission (EC) asked its Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) for a scientific opinion on the risk assessment of products of nanotechnologies. The request asks SCENIHR to identify and assess new information and update its opinions on the potential risks of products of nanotechnologies, “in particular, with respect to characterisation, eco-toxicology and toxicology as well as exposure assessments.” The EC’s request for an opinion states that the update “should be done in a step-wise manner taking into account the upcoming risk assessment demands related to specific nanomaterials and the evolving scientific information from various sources, including results from scientific research projects and activities of the European Technology Platforms related to the safety of nanomaterials. The deadline for the opinion is November 2008.