OECD Tour de Table Includes Information on International Developments Regarding Nanomaterials

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials between July 2023 and June 2024 — Tour de Table (Tour de Table). Below are highlights on international developments from the Tour de Table:

• Canada continues with the risk assessments of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide at the nanoscale that are in commerce in Canada, to evaluate their potential for environmental and human health risks under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA);

• The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is involved in the continuation of the substance evaluation on zinc oxide under the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation (EU REACH). According to the Tour de Table, a second decision is in preparation. In addition, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and BfR have initiated preparatory work to clarify the need for a fiber restriction under EU REACH, following a Regulatory Management Option Analysis (RMOA) that was submitted in 2022; and

• In 2023, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) issued a call for scientific information relevant to the safety assessment of the following nanomaterials in cosmetics: platinum (nano), copper (nano), silver (nano), colloidal silver (nano), gold (nano), colloidal gold (nano), gold thioethylamino hyaluronic acid (nano), silica (nano), hydrated silica (nano), silica silylate (nano), silica dimethyl silylate (nano), lithium magnesium sodium silicate (nano), and hydroxyapatite (nano).