Blogs

On April 16, 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that, due to a technical problem, it is unable to verify receipt of contact information from anyone who subscribed to the e-mail notification list on the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Nanotechnology web page from October 18 to November 1, 2006, and again from January 18 to January 23, 2007.  According to EPA, it has corrected the problem and is now compiling a list...

In mid-March 2007, Representative Jim Saxton (R-NJ), the ranking minority member of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released a new Congressional study on nanotechnology. On balance an extremely positive report, the JEC Study “discusses the range of sciences currently covered by nanotechnology,” describes “what nanotechnology is and how it relates to previous scientific advances,” as well as “the most likely future development of different technologies in a variety of...

The International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) and Rice University’s Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) announced on March 22, 2007, they have launched a monthly online journal that contains citations and links to articles on the environment and health impacts of nanotechnology. The ICON and CBEN coalition launched the first online database of nanomaterial scientific findings in August 2005, but the new journal — The Virtual Journal of Nanotechnology...

At the 2007 GlobalChem Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, Lynn L. Bergeson presented slides on “Nanotechnology:  What’s New.”  Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. co-sponsored this important conference....

On January 22, 2007, ISO published a report entitled Workplace Atmospheres — Ultrafine, Nanoparticle and Nano-Structured Aerosols — Inhalation Exposure Characterization and Assessment, which includes information on the potential health effects of nanoaerosols, sources of occupational nanoaerosols, exposure assessment strategies, particle ensemble characterization methods, size-resolved characterization, online chemical analysis, single particle analysis, and electron microscopy sample...

In a March 15, 2007, letter, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which was created to accelerate the discovery, development, and deployment of nanoscale science and technology. For fiscal year 2006, NNI received $1.2 billion in research and development funding, and 22 federal agencies, including the...

On March 20, 2007, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) released a report entitled Nanotechnology and Life Cycle Assessment: A Systems Approach to Nanotechnology and the Environment, which summarizes the results of the October 2-3, 2006, workshop organized by PEN and the European Commission on life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a cradle-to-grave analysis of how a material affects ecosystems and human...

In February 2007, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released a report entitled Progress Toward Safe Nanotechnology in the Workplace, which summarizes the progress made by the NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) since its inception in 2004 through 2006.  According to NIOSH, by redirecting existing resources, NTRC developed a research program that has made progress towards hazard identification and characterization, exposure assessment, risk...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on June 24, 2020, announcing the availability of the final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation for methylene chloride.  85 Fed. Reg. 37942.  This is the first risk evaluation that EPA has completed under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) amendments to TSCA.  After evaluating 53 conditions of use of methylene chloride, EPA determined that six...

Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented at Chemical Watch Enforcement Summit Europe in Brussels on November 4, 2016.  Topics covered by Ms. Bergeson included “A New [Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)] and Expanded Enforcement and Product Liability Opportunities,” “Next Generation Compliance and Implications for Businesses,” and “eDisclosure — The New Normal?” Ms. Bergeson informed attendees of the significant...

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 include: The internal evaluators recommend...

On March 3, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) to the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science proposed rule.  EPA notes that the SNPRM “is not a new rulemaking; rather, it provides clarifications on certain terms and aspects of the 2018 proposed rule.”  The SNPRM: EPA published the SNPRM in the Federal Register on March 18, 2020.  85 Fed....