NanoHarmony held a webinar on March 17, 2021, on “Identification and solving barriers for translating science to regulation and standards.” According to NanoHarmony, the webinar focused on helping to identify the obstacles faced by stakeholders in developing new test methods and having them introduced as new test guidelines and guidance documents. A recording of the webinar is now available online, as well as the following slides: Registration is now available for...
On March 19, 2021, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “ECETOC task force ensures society benefits from safe nanomaterials via efficient safety assessments that require minimal animal testing” by authors from BASF and the Center for Chemical Safety Assessment (ECETOC). The column reviews ways to assess the safety of nanomaterials while minimizing animal testing. According to the authors, the NanoApp developed by the ECETOC...
The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on March 19, 2021, that it is looking for topic suggestions that could be addressed in its upcoming studies. According to EUON, up to three studies are conducted annually to address knowledge gaps on nanomaterials that are of interest to the general public and the research community. EUON states that it seeks studies that address: The scope of the study can be on nanomaterials in general, a specific...
March 18, 2021
Gov4Nano Conducting “Data Sharing and FAIR Data Use Survey”
Gov4Nano is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to design an effective risk governance process for nanotechnologies, including improving the availability of nano-relevant data. To meet its aims, Gov4Nano is conducting a “Data Sharing and FAIR Data Use Survey” to obtain views and opinions from data users and producers on data availability and sharing and how these can be improved. Gov4Nano seeks to determine how barriers to data availability can be lowered and incentives for...
March 11, 2021
France Recommends OELs for Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles
On March 4, 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) announced that it is recommending an eight-hour occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 0.80 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) for titanium dioxide nanoparticles. According to ANSES, compliance with this value “should help prevent lung inflammation, an effect that occurs at the lowest exposure concentrations.” Due to the lack of available data on the immediate or...
On March 5, 2021, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published its final opinion on copper (nano) and colloidal copper (nano). According to the final opinion, nine manufacturers notified the EC about 36 different products containing nanosized copper. After initial evaluation and a request for additional information, two manufacturers withdrew their products from the notification, and these seven products were excluded from evaluation,...
On March 10, 2021, the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on “Designing a global trade strategy for nanomaterials.” NIA Director General Chiara Venturini will begin the webinar by providing an overview of recent and upcoming global trade developments. Ted Kalmbach, Chief Strategy Officer at NIA member BNNANO, will discuss the experience of a U.S.-based nanomaterial company on growing international sales and partnerships, addressing when and how to consider...
Registration is open for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) March 23, 2021, webinar on “What We Know About NanoEHS: Human Exposure.” The webinar will feature experts from diverse disciplines to share their perspectives on key findings in quantifying and assessing the effects of human exposure to nanomaterials. Keana Scott, Ph.D., Physical Scientist, Materials Measurement Science Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology...
March 3, 2021
NIEHS-Funded Study Finds Graphene Nanochannel Filters Hold Promise for Contaminant Clean-Up
The March 2021 issue of Environmental Factor, a monthly newsletter published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), includes an item entitled “New graphene nanochannel filters hold promise for contaminant clean-up.” According to the item, an NIEHS-funded study found a new strategy to design nanomaterials to filter contaminants better from water. To improve the usefulness of graphene oxide nanosheets for filtering contaminants from liquid, the...
The Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie e. V. (VdMi), which represents German manufacturers of inorganic, organic, and metallic pigments, fillers, carbon black, ceramic and glass colors, food colorants, artists’ and school paints, masterbatches, and products for applied photocatalysis, has published a “Comparative Compilation of relevant nano definitions in different regulations and their corresponding consequences.” The compilation notes that pigments and fillers often fall under the...