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The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on July 3, 2019, that several new features and improvements are now publicly available in its chemicals database, including new information in substance Infocards.  ECHA has updated the substance Infocards with a new nanomaterial form section that shows whether the substance is placed on the European Economic Area (EEA)…

On July 5, 2019, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) released an ex-post evaluation report prepared by the Evaluation Working Group of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) with the support of PricewaterhouseCoopers.  The ex-post evaluation assessed EUON against the following criteria:  effectiveness; coherence; EU added-value; and utility.  The recommendations by the external evaluators…

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on July 3, 2019, that it has added a new search tool for nanomaterials to its website.  According to EUON, it will enable regulators to form a better view of available data and give consumers access to chemicals safety information.  The search tool combines data submitted…

On June 26, 2019, the Council of the European Union (EU) announced that it adopted conclusions on chemicals intended to “offer political guidance on the development of a sustainable EU chemicals policy strategy.”  The June 26, 2019, press release notes that the conclusions address in particular the topics of Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of…

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has posted the draft version of a guidance document, Appendix for nanoforms applicable to the Guidance on Registration and substance identification.  The draft guidance is being reviewed by a Partner Expert Group (PEG).  The draft Appendix has been developed to provide advice to registrants preparing registration dossiers that cover…

The February 2019 issue of the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Newsletter includes an interview with Eva Valsami-Jones, Professor of Environmental Nanoscience at the University of Birmingham and leader of the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster Coordination Team, on research on the safety of nanomaterials.  The NanoSafety Cluster coordinates the funding of research projects at…

On February 18, 2019, the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) announced that it is supporting the Malta Initiative by linking various projects with activities developed within the Malta Initiative.  According to NSC’s website, the Malta Initiative began in 2017, when Germany approached the EU Directorate-General (DG) for Research and Innovation to request political…

The February 2019 issue of Computational Toxicology includes an article entitled “Grouping of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to read-across genotoxicity:  A case study to evaluate the applicability of regulatory guidance.”  The article describes a case study, performed by scientists at the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC), to explore and illustrate read-across of…

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on January 30, 2019, that it has submitted a restriction proposal for microplastic particles that are intentionally added to mixtures used by consumers or professionals.  According to ECHA, if adopted, the restriction could reduce the amount of microplastics released to the environment in the European Union (EU) “by about…

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) provides information on nanomaterials to a wide audience on subjects including safety, innovation, and research.  It also covers the existing EU legislation on nanomaterials and the presence and uses of specific substances on the EU market.  EUON is currently conducting a survey to allow stakeholders to express…