Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The European Commission (EC) announced on November 15, 2019, that it published an updated catalog of nanomaterials used in cosmetic products on the European Union (EU) market.  As reported in our June 19, 2017, blog item, the EC first published a catalog in June 2017.  The catalog compiles information that responsible persons shared with the EC through the cosmetic products notification portal (CPNP) as of December 31, 2018.  The catalog lists 27 nanomaterials used...

On November 12, 2019, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “Nanomaterials in Europe’s workplaces:  what are the risks and how can they be managed?” and written by Elke Schneider, European Agency for Health and Safety at Work (EU-OSHA).  Schneider states that at the EU level, the requirements for managing nanomaterials and their potential risks are the same as those for managing other hazardous substances.  Under the EU’s...

The German Environment Agency (UBA) will hold a conference on December 5-6, 2019, on “Advanced Materials — 1st Thematic Conference.”  UBA uses the term “advanced materials” to refer to a heterogeneous group of new or modified materials with improved properties for intended applications.  According to UBA, for a certain number of these new materials, their potential risk may not be driven by their chemical identity alone but may also be determined by their physical and morphological...

On November 4, 2019, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published an updated Guidance on the Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics.  The Guidance updates SCCS’s 2012 Guidance (SCCS/1484/12) on the safety assessment of nanomaterials in cosmetic products.  It covers the main elements of safety assessment — general considerations (Section 2), material characterization (Section 3), exposure assessment (Section 4), hazard...

The most recent episode of the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) podcast series, Stories from the NNI, features Lynn L. Bergeson.  Ms. Bergeson shares her perspective on the intersection of nanotechnology and the law.  Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf, Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), speaks with Ms. Bergeson regarding her perspective on the intersection of nanotechnology and the law.  To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the...

On September 24 – 26, 2019, the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) hosted the 2019 Global Summit on Regulatory Science (GSRS19), which focused on nanotechnology and nanoplastics.  Co-organized with the Global Coalition for Regulatory Science Research, GSRS19 covered nanotechnology research and its role in enhancing regulatory decision making, including methods, standards, and applications.  In addition, GSRS19 also introduced methods and approaches to...

Registration has begun for the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) November 12, 2019, webinar, “Global Harmonization of Nanoinformatics:  A Case Study in Convergence and Team Science.”  The webinar, part of NNI’s 2019 series on the environmental, health, and safety effects of nanomaterials (nanoEHS), “will share how engaged and collaborative communities in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere have provided an infrastructure capable of supporting sustainable design of...

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard ISO/TS 21236-1:2019, “Nanotechnologies — Clay nanomaterials — Part 1:  Specification of characteristics and measurement methods for layered clay nanomaterials.”  The standard specifies characteristics to be measured of layered clay nanomaterials in powder form and chemically modified ones and describes their relevant measurement methods.  According to the standard abstract, there are...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on October 15, 2019, that it seeks topics that could be addressed in upcoming studies.  EUON conducts up to three studies annually that are intended to address knowledge gaps on nanomaterials that are of interest to the general public and the research community.  EUON states that it is looking for studies that address: According to EUON, the scope of the study can be on nanomaterials in general, a...

On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 31 chemical substances, including multiwalled carbon nanotubes (generic), that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  84 Fed. Reg. 54816.  EPA notes that eight of the chemical substances are subject to orders under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) issued by EPA.  The effective date of the TSCA Section 5(e) order for multiwalled...