Two workshops, a European Union (EU)-U.S. Nano Environmental and Health Safety (NanoEHS) workshop and a nano modeling workshop, will be held in advance of the October 2016 OpenTox Euro Conference. The EU-U.S. NanoEHS workshop, “Enabling a Sustainable Harmonized Knowledge Infrastructure Supporting NanoEHS Assessment,” will be held October 24, 2016. The objective of the workshop is to facilitate networking, knowledge sharing, and idea development on the requirements and implementation...
August 10, 2016
CEN Committee Seeks Responses to Survey on Disposal Practices for Manufactured Nano-Objects in Waste
Under European Commission (EC) funding, the European Committee for Standardization Technical Committee (CEN/TC) 352 — Nanotechnologies is developing guidelines relating to the safe waste management and disposal of deliberately manufactured nano-objects. The TC seeks responses from companies manufacturing or processing manufactured nano-objects by September 5, 2016, to an online questionnaire relating to current disposal practices for manufactured nano-objects in waste. The guidelines are...
August 4, 2016
Canada Begins Consultation on Proposed Prioritization Approach for Nanoscale Forms of DSL Substances
On July 27, 2016, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC) began a consultation on a proposed prioritization approach for nanoscale forms of substances on the Domestic Substances List (DSL). Canada will use the proposed approach to: (1) establish a list of existing nanomaterials in Canada for prioritization; (2) identify how the information available will be used to inform prioritization of nanomaterials for risk assessment; and (3) outline the...
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on July 29, 2016, that federal agencies released a white paper describing the collective federal vision for the emerging and innovative solutions needed to realize the Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge for Future Computing announced in October 2015. The white paper, a collaboration by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DOD), National...
On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed changes to the existing regulations governing significant new uses of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to align these regulations with revisions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communications Standard (HCS), as well as changes to the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator...
July 25, 2016
Canadian Parliament Holds First Reading of Bill to Create Framework to Regulate Nanotechnology
On June 8, 2016, the House of Commons held its first reading of an Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) (nanotechnology) (C-287). The bill would add Part 6.1 to CEPA primarily to implement procedures for the investigation and assessment of nanomaterials. Member Peter Julian, New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) House Leader, issued a June 8, 2016, press release stating that he first introduced the bill in 2010 and is “pleased to see...
The European Commission (EC) published on July 14, 2016, a regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union that amends Annex VI, the list of ultraviolet (UV) filters allowed in cosmetic products, of the cosmetics regulation. Under the amendment, the entry for titanium dioxide is revised to state that the combined use of titanium dioxide and titanium dioxide (nano) must not exceed 25 percent maximum concentration in ready-for-use preparation. The amendment...
On July 11, 2016, the NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) published the 2016 edition of the Compendium of Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster. According to NSC, the focus of investment and research “has moved increasingly towards predictive and high throughput approaches to nanosafety, including safety-by-design, bioinformatics, as well as the utilisation of nano-characterisation and safety datasets to support regulation and nanoproduct commercialisation.” The 2016 Compendium contains...
On June 29, 2016, the European Commission (EC) provided a notice to the European Parliament regarding its response to a 2014 petition calling for a European Union (EU)-wide ban on microplastics and nanoparticles. The petition summary states: “Nanoparticles are so small that they penetrate cells effortlessly and can damage them, causing cancer. Because the precautionary principle applies in the EU, the petitioner urges a ban on these small particles as soon as possible.” In its...
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published several dossier summaries for nanomaterials tested as part of its Testing Program of Manufactured Nanomaterials. Under the Program, sponsors tested 11 nanomaterials for: nanomaterial information/identification; physical-chemical properties and material characterization; environmental fate; toxicological and eco-toxicological effects; environmental toxicology; mammalian toxicology; and material...