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On October 22, 2012, Safe Work Australia announced the availability of a report entitled Human Health Hazard Assessment and Classification of Carbon Nanotubes, as well as an information sheet on the report. The report recommends that multi-walled carbon nanotubes should be classified as hazardous unless toxicological or other data for specific types imply otherwise. The National…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a September 20, 2012, Federal Register notice seeking comment on a proposed National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) exposure assessment and epidemiological study of U.S. workers exposed to carbon nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF). The notice states that the proposed research is a cross-sectional…

On September 5, 2012, the National Research Council (NRC) released a pre-publication version of a report entitled Science for Environmental Protection:  The Road Ahead. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked NRC to assess EPA’s overall capabilities “to develop, obtain, and use the best available scientific and technologic information and tools to meet persistent, emerging…

The International Zinc Association (IZA) prepared a response to a recent article entitled “Soybean susceptibility to manufactured nanomaterials with evidence for food quality and soil fertility interruption” and posted on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) website. IZA states that while the article and related reports highlight that nano-zinc oxide improves crop productivity…

The July 3, 2012, edition of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) eNews includes a nanotechnology update, which states that the critical question to address is whether nanomaterials pose health or safety risks to workers employed in their manufacture and industrial use. The update includes the following “notable recent findings and areas…

The Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) published on June 29, 2012, a report entitled Interpretation and implications of the European Commission Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial. The Dutch ministries requested RIVM to interpret the meaning and implications of the European Commission’s (EC) recommendation from a scientific perspective and to…

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Prevention through Design Program and Nanotechnology Research Center will hold an August 14-16, 2012, workshop entitled “Safe Nano Design: Molecule » Manufacturing » Market.” NIOSH states that participants will provide input into the safe commercialization of nano products resulting in the development of guidelines for…

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a Technical Report (TR) providing guidance on the physicochemical characterization of manufactured nano-objects prior to toxicological assessment.  ISO states that TR 13014:2012, Nanotechnologies — Guidance on physicochemical characterization of engineered nanoscale materials for toxicologic assessment, “is intended to assist health scientists and experts to understand, plan…

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has posted a document entitled General Safe Practices for Working with Engineered Nanomaterials in Research Laboratories, which contains recommendations on engineering controls and safe practices for handling engineered nanomaterials in laboratories and some pilot scale operations. According to NIOSH, it designed the guidance “to be used…

On March 27-28, 2012, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in collaboration with the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), and hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held an International Symposium on Assessing the Economic Impact of Nanotechnology. The objective of the symposium was to explore systematically the need for and…