Regulatory & legal developments involving nano and other emerging chemical technologies
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published two guidance documents in its series on testing and assessment:
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On August 19 and 20, 2020, the American National Standards Institute Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) will hold a virtual workshop on advanced materials. ANSI states that advanced materials are of growing interest as there is increasing recognition that size alone does not define the unique properties of a material. More and more, governments…
On June 25, 2020, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) Program Performance One-Pager (PPOP). NTRC conducts research to understand the potential effects on human health of exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENM) and develops methods to control or eliminate exposures. According to the PPOP, NTRC’s accomplishments include…
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) began a survey on June 4, 2020, inviting commercial actors within the nanomaterials arena (producers, users, and professional providers) to contribute their organization’s perception and use of the term “Advanced Materials.” According to NIA, there is increasing policy focus on the term “Advanced Materials,” with national governments and international frameworks…
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on July 7, 2020, on “Introducing the NanoHarmony project.” Funded through Horizon 2020, NanoHarmony began on April 1, 2020. NanoHarmony brings together 14 expert partners from ten European countries and will work alongside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European…
The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on May 20, 2020, that a recent study has analyzed existing research on whether nanomaterials used in consumer products and at workplaces are absorbed through the skin. The study was commissioned by EUON and carried out by the RPA consortium of Triskelion and the Dutch National…
The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) posted an article on April 6, 2020, announcing the availability of a study that found a lack of data on female fertility. The study, A critical review of studies on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of nanomaterials, was commissioned by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and…
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued a press release on October 8, 2019, reminding companies that by January 1, 2020, companies must provide more information on nanomaterials on the European Union (EU) market under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. The new information requirements concern companies that manufacture or import…
In May 2019, the Nordic Council of Ministers published a working paper entitled The applicability of the GHS classification criteria to nanomaterials. The goal of the project was to review the applicability of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) to manufactured nanomaterials, taking into account the progress of international…
The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published a press release on June 6, 2019, regarding its contribution to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) development of Test Guidelines for the safety assessment of nanomaterials. According to the press release, scientists from JRC have actively participated in discussions of the OECD’s Working…
