Nano and Other Emerging Chemical Technologies Blog

The Organization for Economic 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.  The Tour de Table lists U.S. developments on the human health and...

As reported in our March 16, 2023, blog item, on March 14, 2023, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) issued a call for study proposals. EUON is looking for studies on: According to EUON, the scope of the study can be on nanomaterials in general, a specific nanomaterial, or a defined group of nanomaterials. EUON will assess all proposals, and if selected, they will be carried out through EUON’s existing procurement channels. EUON will post...

In France, under Decree No. 2012-232, companies that manufacture, import, and/or distribute a “substance with nanoparticle status” in an amount of at least 100 grams per year must submit an annual report with substance identity, quantity, and use information. According to the R-Nano website, managed by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), the declaration form has evolved since 2022 to require the completion of certain fields in accordance...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on April 11, 2023, that its Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently developed sustainable, machine-washable antimicrobial wipes that can be used at least 30 times for cleaning hard and nonporous surfaces. According to USDA, ARS researchers developed the antimicrobial wipes “by using raw cotton fiber that naturally produced silver nanoparticles inside the fiber in the presence of a silver precursor.” USDA states that the...

On April 6, 2023, NanoHarmony announced publication of a paper in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology entitled “Towards harmonisation of testing of nanomaterials for EU regulatory requirements on chemical safety — A proposal for further actions.” The paper provides an overview of the information requirements across different European Union (EU) regulatory areas. For each information requirement, experts identified potential needs for further action to accommodate...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published a request for information (RFI) on April 5, 2023, seeking public input in updating the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Research Strategy. 88 Fed. Reg. 20194. 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 interested in public input...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold a public meeting May 31-June 1, 2023, to discuss the revision of the 2011 National Nanotechnology Initiative Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Strategy (EHS Research Strategy). NNI encourages individuals, non-governmental organizations (NGO), academic and research institutions, and the private sector interested in the responsible development of nanotechnology to attend and contribute to creating an updated EHS Research Strategy....

The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) published its final opinion on hydroxyapatite (nano) on March 23, 2023. As reported in our April 13, 2021, blog item, SCCS released a final opinion in 2021 on the safety of hydroxyapatite (nano) when used in leave-on and rinse-off dermal and oral cosmetic products according to the maximum concentrations and specifications reported, taking into account reasonably foreseeable exposure...

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

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) has issued a call for study proposals. EUON is looking for studies on: According to EUON, the scope of the study can be on nanomaterials in general, a specific nanomaterial, or a defined group of nanomaterials. EUON will assess all proposals, and if selected, they will be carried out through EUON’s existing procurement channels. EUON will post the outcome and study reports on its website. EUON states that...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held a webinar on February 7, 2023, to present the methods described in Test Guideline (TG) No. 125 to determine the size and size distributions of nanomaterial particles and fibers spanning from one nanometer (nm) to 1,000 nm. It also presented the use and limitations of this TG, as well as of the validation exercise that was done to support its development. OECD organized the webinar to increase awareness of the...

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) has posted a recording of its March 6, 2023, webinar on “Nano in Action: Antimicrobial Treatment.” The webinar explored a topic where relevance has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that has long been on the to-do list of the public building and transport sectors. Subjects covered included the current cleaning and sanitation protocols of public spaces; the kind of nano-based solutions available to meet this need; and how...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) will hold a webinar on “What’s Next in NanoEHS: The Young Professional’s Perspective” on March 28, 2023. NNI’s 2023 nano environmental, health, and safety (nanoEHS) webinar series will focus on the questions, challenges, and breakthroughs needed to continue advancing the responsible development of nanotechnology. According to the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office’s (NNCO) announcement, the 2023 theme complements the NNI’s...

The March 2023 issue of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) eNews includes an item announcing publication of an article entitled “Results of the 2019 Survey of Engineered Nanomaterial Occupational Health and Safety Practices” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. According to the abstract, the survey aimed to understand whether workers follow the recommendations of NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Research...

On February 14, 2023, the European Commission (EC) appealed the November 23, 2022, decision of the European General Court that annuls the 2019 harmonized classification and labeling of titanium dioxide as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation in certain powder forms. As reported in our December 6, 2022, memorandum, the court concluded that the EC “made a manifest error in its assessment of the reliability and acceptability of the study on which the classification was based and,...

The kickoff workshop for Nano4EARTH was held January 24-25, 2023. Nano4EARTH will leverage recent investments in understanding and controlling matter at the nanoscale to develop technologies, industries, and training opportunities that address climate change. On January 26, 2023, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a press release summarizing the workshop. According to OSTP, more than 400 people across sectors, with diverse expertise and...

On February 15, 2023, the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) and the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND), non-governmental organizations in Europe working on both standardization and nanotechnologies, announced the release of a report entitled “Making nano- and advanced materials safe for all: State of play of discussions at the OECD.” According to the organizations, the use of nanomaterials remains underregulated in the European Union (EU). The press...

According to a February 13, 2023, press release issued by France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion and Ministry of Energy Transition, France is appealing the November 23, 2022, decision of the European General Court that annuls the 2019 harmonized classification and labeling of titanium dioxide as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation in certain powder forms. As reported in our December 6, 2022, memorandum, the court concluded that the European...

On February 3, 2023, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) announced that it published a supplement to President Biden’s 2023 budget request. NNI notes that the supplement serves as its annual report, called for under the provisions of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, and also addresses the requirement for Department of Defense (DOD) reporting on its nanotechnology investments. The NNI budget represents the sum of the nanotechnology-related...

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced in its February 1, 2023, ECHA Weekly that it has released an updated appendix for nanomaterials that provides guidance on how to obtain data under the new information requirements for nanoforms. According to ECHA, this includes information on how to perform environmental testing and advice on preparation methods and testing strategies for physico-chemical testing of nanoforms. ECHA notes that the Partner Expert Group (PEG) members...