The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) recently published a JRC Science for Policy Report entitled Identification of nanomaterials through measurements that is intended to support the implementation of the EC’s Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterials (2011/696/EU). It is a follow-up of a previous JRC Science for Policy Report on concepts and
EU Member State
Austrian Academy of Sciences Publishes NanoTrust Dossier on Nano Registries
The Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has published a NanoTrust Dossier entitled “Nano-registries: Country-specific Solutions for Nano-regulation.” While the European Union (EU) has declined to create an EU-wide nano-registry, several EU Member States have adopted their own nano-registries. Belgium and France created stand-alone nano-registries, but Norway and Sweden…
Austrian Academy of Sciences Publishes NanoTrust Dossier on the Safe-By-Design Concept
The Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has published a NanoTrust Dossier entitled “Safe-by-Design — The Early Integration of Safety Aspects in Innovation Processes.” The Dossier presents an overview of the concepts behind the idea of integrating health or environmental safety considerations in the design of materials, products, or…
Germany Announces Research Project to Establish Criteria for Assessment of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of Novel (Nano) Materials
On April 29, 2019, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) announced InnoMat.Life, a joint research project to establish criteria for an efficient assessment of the human health and environmental risks of novel (nano) materials. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing 2.22 million euro to fund the project, which will be…
France Bans Titanium Dioxide Food Additive Beginning in 2020
On April 17, 2019, the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition issued a press release announcing that France will prohibit foods containing food additive E171 (titanium dioxide) from being placed on the market beginning January 1, 2020. The press release cites the April 15, 2019, opinion from the Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de…
Germany Publishes Study on Health Effects of Ultrafine Particles
The German Environment Agency (UBA) in October 2018 published a study entitled Health Effects of Ultrafine Particles: Systematic literature search and the potential transferability of the results to the German setting. The study notes that ultrafine particles represent the smallest size fractions of particles with sizes from one to about 100 nanometers in aerodynamic…
Germany Publishes Comparison of Inhalation and Intratracheal Instillation as Testing Methods for Characterization of Granular Biopersistent Particles
Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) has published a report entitled Comparison of Inhalation and Intratracheal Instillation as Testing Methods for Characterisation of Granular Biopersistent Particles (GBP). In Project F 2364, researchers conducted an in vivo validation study to evaluate the consistency of data with results obtained in the preceding intratracheal…
Austrian Academy of Sciences Publishes English Version of Dossier on Nanotechnological Applications for Food Contact Materials
In July 2018, the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences published an English version of Dossier No. 49, “Nanotechnological Applications for Food Contact Materials.” The Dossier concludes that nanomaterials can significantly improve the properties of plastic materials, making nanocomposites “increasingly interesting for manufacturers, especially for food packaging.” Nanomaterials used…
German Environment Agency Publishes Fact Sheet on Use of Nanomaterials in Plastic Packaging
The German Environment Agency (UBA) has published an August 2018 fact sheet, in German, regarding the use of nanomaterials in plastic packaging. The fact sheet addresses nanomaterials that promise new, technical, or improved packaging properties. According to UBA, the nanomaterials used for labeling and surface coating of packaging are partly the same as those…
EUON Reports on Nordic Information Campaign on REACH-Relevant Regulation for Nanomaterials
On May 23, 2018, the European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published an article entitled “Nordic information campaign on REACH-relevant regulation for nanomaterials.” According to EUON, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are coordinating an information campaign through the N-Nano project group of the Nordic Chemical Working Group of the Nordic Council of Ministers. …