Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The Pace Environmental Law Review (PELR) will publish a themed issue this winter concerning issues in the development and regulation of nanotechnology and biotechnology. Articles or essays should discuss the intersection between nanotechnology and/or biotechnology and environmental issues. PELR encourages submitters to take an interdisciplinary approach to nanotechnology and/or biotechnology from legal and other perspectives, including technology, science, public health, economics, or...

On August 1-2, 2019, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) held “The Future of the NNI:  A Stakeholder Workshop.”  The NNI has played a pivotal role in fostering and advancing a dynamic nanotechnology ecosystem in support of the initiative’s four goals:  advance world-class research; foster commercialization; develop and sustain research infrastructure; and support the responsible development of nanotechnology.  Building on this foundation, experts from the...

As reported in our February 1, 2019, blog item, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances (TLV®-CS) Committee included carbon nanotubes on its 2019 list of chemical substances and other issues under study.  Being placed on the under study list indicated that the TLV®-CS Committee had selected carbon nanotubes for development of a threshold limit value (TLV®).  On July 30, 2019,...

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 scientific work.  The report notes that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working...

On July 3, 2019, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published its final opinion on the solubility of synthetic amorphous silica (SAS). The EC asked whether SCCS considers that SAS materials are soluble (100 milligram per liter (mg/L) or higher) or degradable/non-persistent in biological systems in light of the nanomaterial definition of the Cosmetics Regulation. Having considered the data provided in this dossier and that available in published...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced on July 10, 2019, the availability of a new Technical Report, The NIOSH Occupational Exposure Banding Process for Chemical Risk Management.  NIOSH describes occupational exposure banding as “a voluntary process that assigns each chemical to a category based on its toxicity and any negative health outcomes associated with exposure to that chemical.”  The Technical Report “provides a process...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced on July 3, 2019, that several new features and improvements are now publicly available in its chemicals database, including new information in substance Infocards.  ECHA has updated the substance Infocards with a new nanomaterial form section that shows whether the substance is placed on the European Economic Area (EEA) market in nanoform and provides links to the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON).  As...

On July 12, 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published in the EFSA Journal its “Scientific opinion on the proposed amendment of the EU specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171) with respect to the inclusion of additional parameters related to its particle size distribution.”  The opinion addresses the assessment of data provided by interested business operators in support of an amendment of the European Union (EU) specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171)...

The Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has published a NanoTrust Dossier entitled “Nano-registries:  Country-specific Solutions for Nano-regulation.”  While the European Union (EU) has declined to create an EU-wide nano-registry, several EU Member States have adopted their own nano-registries.  Belgium and France created stand-alone nano-registries, but Norway and Sweden added a “tick box” for nano to their product registries.  Denmark established...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on July 3, 2019, that it has added a new search tool for nanomaterials to its website.  According to EUON, it will enable regulators to form a better view of available data and give consumers access to chemicals safety information.  The search tool combines data submitted by companies in their registration dossiers under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals...