Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

On September 12-13, 2023, the “2023 Workshop on Nanotechnology Infrastructure of the Future” will be held in Washington, D.C., and online. Since the current National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) award cycle ends in 2025, the conference organizers are looking ahead to the future and the next national resource in science and technology infrastructure. Shared facilities, such as those historically supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), provide...

On August 14, 2023, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) called for the submission of any scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of nanomaterials used in cosmetics. Article 16 of the UK Cosmetics Regulation requires that cosmetic products containing nanomaterials be notified to the Secretary of State at least six months prior to being placed on the market. These notifications may be completed via the Submit Cosmetic Product Notification...

On August 2, 2023, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced that it published a study that systematically reviews and assesses alternative methods for the testing of the safety of nanomaterials without the use of animals. According to EUON, the main aim of the study was to collect and provide accurate and transparent information on new approach methodologies (NAM) available for the human safety assessment of nanomaterials and to create a comprehensive...

On June 26, 2023, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published the second revision of its Guidance on the Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics. The Guidance covers the main elements of safety assessment, i.e., general considerations (Section 2), material characterization (Section 3), exposure assessment (Section 4), hazard identification and dose-response characterization (Section 5), and risk assessment (Section 6). SCCS states...

On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it provided more than $1.3 million in funding to a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop nanosensor technology that can detect, monitor, and degrade commonly used pesticides found in water that can harm human health. According to EPA, using funding from the grant, researchers will develop an integrated, portable, sensor-controlled water treatment technology that itself...

On September 20, 2023, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will hold a webinar on Test Guideline No. 126: Determination of the Hydrophobicity Index of Nanomaterials Through an Affinity Measurement. The webinar will present the method to determine the hydrophobicity index (Hy) of nanomaterials, through an affinity measurement, described in the OECD Test Guideline (TG) No. 126. According to OECD, webinar attendees will be able to learn the use and limitation...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced on July 4, 2023, that it published a number of new, updated, and corrected Test Guidelines (TG), including the following for nanomaterials: On July 4, 2023, OECD also released a corrected version of its Report on the WNT Workshop how to prepare the Test Guidelines Programme for emerging technologies. The Working Party of the National Coordinators of the TG Program (WNT) held a workshop in December 2022 on...

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has updated its precautionary matrix for synthetic nanomaterials, which is a method for assessing the nano-specific health and environmental risks of nanoproducts. According to FOPH, the precautionary matrix enables the structured assessment of the “nano-specific need for precautions” when handling synthetic nanomaterials. The precautionary matrix is designed “to help industry and trade comply with their due diligence and their...

The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) announced the release of its final opinion on the safety of titanium dioxide in toys on June 27, 2023. Following the mandate from the EC, the scientific opinion evaluates whether the uses of pigmentary titanium dioxide in toys and toy materials can be considered to be safe in light of the exposure identified and in light of the classification of titanium dioxide...

According to NNI, the roundtable is a critical part of the Nano4EARTH National Nanotechnology Challenge, which aims to leverage recent investments in understanding and controlling matter at the nanoscale to develop technologies and industries that address climate change. Nano4EARTH focuses on facilitating opportunities for members of the nanotechnology community to convene, collaborate, and share resources. Nano4EARTH also strives to provide mechanisms that support technology development and...

POSTED IN INTERNATIONAL, LEGAL/REGULATORY ISSUES, OECD The Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the latest edition of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials — Tour de Table. The Tour de Table compiles information provided by delegations on the occasion of the 22nd meeting of the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) in June 2022. Below are highlights on...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) has posted two Nanopinions:...

The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published on May 16, 2023, the 12th revision of The SCCS Notes of Guidance for the Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients and Their Safety Evaluation. The guidance contains information on the different aspects of testing and safety evaluation of cosmetic substances in Europe. The emphasis of the guidance is on cosmetic ingredients, but it notes that “some guidance is also indirectly given for the safety assessment of...

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) issued a May 17, 2023, news item stating that it believes that the European Commission’s (EC) revised Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial, published in June 2022, “is too restrictive and could lead to a regression in the protection of public health and the environment.” ANSES “is therefore urging the French authorities to take a more inclusive definition into account and work...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has extended the comment period for its April 5, 2023, request for information (RFI) seeking public input in updating the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research Strategy. 88 Fed. Reg. 33174. OSTP is soliciting public input from a wide variety of stakeholders, including individuals, industry, academia, research laboratories, nonprofits, and think tanks. OSTP states that it is...

As reported in our May 10, 2023, blog item, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is holding two public webinars providing an overview of the key activities of U.S. government agencies in tackling the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. According to NNI, the breakdown of bulk plastics to micro- and nanoscale particles in the environment “has further challenged efforts to understand the potential human and environmental impacts of plastics over their full life cycles,”...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold two public webinars providing an overview of the key activities of U.S. government agencies in tackling the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. NNI states that the plastic waste issue includes more than just solid waste accumulation. According to NNI, the breakdown of bulk plastics to micro- and nanoscale particles in the environment “has further challenged efforts to understand the potential human and environmental impacts of...

On May 2, 2023, the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced that it published a guidance document entitled Guidance on the implementation of the Commission Recommendation 2022/C 229/01 on the definition of nanomaterial. As reported in our June 10, 2022, blog item, in June 2022, the EC published a new Recommendation aimed at harmonizing the interpretation of the term “nanomaterial” in regulatory contexts. The updated definition of nanomaterials...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on May 3, 2023, that it has filed a color additive petition (CAP 3C0325), submitted by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), the Center for Food Safety (CFS), the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and the Environmental Working Group (EWG). 88 Fed. Reg. 27818. The petition proposes that FDA repeal the color additive regulation for titanium dioxide in 21 C.F.R....

The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has begun a public consultation on its preliminary opinion on fullerenes, hydroxylated fullerenes, and hydrated forms of hydroxylated fullerenes (nano). The EC asked SCCS if it considers fullerenes, hydroxylated fullerenes, and hydrated forms of hydroxylated fullerenes safe when used in cosmetic products according to the maximum concentrations and specifications as reported via the Cosmetic Product...