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On April 29, 2010, during the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) meeting, William Jordan, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), presented slides regarding nanotechnology and pesticides. Jordan briefly described how OPP is defining nanoscale materials and how the technology is being applied to the field of pesticides. His presentation described OPP’s recent consultation with EPA’s Scientific...

On March 1, 2010, the European Commission (EC) issued a request, via the accelerated procedure, for a scientific opinion on the scientific basis for the definition of the term “nanomaterial” from the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). According to the EC, its services “urgently need to elaborate a working definition of the term ‘nanomaterials’ to ensure the consistency of forthcoming regulatory developments to guide, as appropriate, the...

In a February 5, 2010, letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs, the Silver Nanotechnology Working Group (SNWG) provides its reactions to the recent Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) report on nanosilver and other nanometal oxide pesticide products. In its letter, SNWG highlights a number of the statements and recommendations from the SAP report that it considers “highly relevant for the shaping of EPA policy towards nanosilver...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) has released the minutes of its November 3-5, 2009, meeting regarding evaluation of the hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.  In addition to the general observations noted here, more information is available in our February 8, 2010, memorandum. First, the SAP final recommendations address nanosilver almost entirely, and little or no mention is...

The Silver Nanotechnology Working Group (SNWG) issued a press release regarding its presentation to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) at its November 3-6, 2009, meeting. EPA asked the SAP “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” According to EPA, companies with an interest in marketing products that contain...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will stream its November 3-6, 2009, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting on the Internet. EPA has asked the SAP “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” According to EPA, companies with an interest in marketing products that...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a September 16, 2009, Federal Register notice that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) will meet November 3-6, 2009, “to consider and review a set of scientific issues related to the assessment of hazard and exposure associated with nanosilver and other nanometal pesticide products.” Nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc SAP members for this meeting are...

The European Commission (EC) will hold a scientific hearing on nanotechnology on September 10, 2009. The hearing will focus on the scientific aspects of the issues covered in the nanotechnology opinions issued by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) and the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) (which is now replaced by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS)). To prepare for the hearing, the EC is launching...

On March 5, 2009, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a document entitled The Potential Risks Arising from Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies on Food and Feed Safety, which provides its scientific opinion on the potential risks arising from nanoscience and nanotechnologies on food and feed safety. EFSA’s Scientific Committee (SC) concluded that established international approaches to risk assessment can also be applied to engineered nanomaterials (ENM).  The SC...

On February 18, 2009, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published its opinion on the most recent developments in the risk assessment of nanomaterials.  In its opinion, SCENIHR indicates that methodologies to assess exposure to manufactured nanomaterials to humans and the environment and the identification of potential hazards require further development.  For lack of a general approach, SCENIHR maintains its...