Archives

May 20, 2024

UBA Concludes REACH Evaluation of Environmental Aspects of Nano Zinc Oxide

On April 29, 2024, the German Environment Agency (UBA) posted an item entitled “ZnO nanoforms – REACH substance evaluation: environmental aspects.” The Federal Office for Chemicals, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), and UBA have been conducting a Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) substance evaluation on the registered nanoforms of zinc oxide since 2017. According to the item, based on the studies submitted by the registrants,...
April 27, 2022

Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Announces Fourth Joint Symposium on Nanotechnology

On April 20, 2022, Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) announced that the fourth joint symposium on nanotechnology will be held May 30-31, 2022. During the symposium, experts will present their findings on topics such as the use of nanotechnology in textiles and packaging, its application in agriculture, the effects of nanomaterials on the body, and future-oriented assessment approaches. BfR notes that with nanotechnology, consumer protection is expanding into...
January 12, 2022

German Agencies Publish Joint Perspective on Risk Governance of Advanced Materials

In December 2021, the German Environment Agency (UBA) published a document entitled Risk Governance of Advanced Materials: Considerations from the joint perspective of the German Higher Federal Authorities BAuA, BfR and UBA. The document summarizes the current activities, considerations, and recommendations of UBA, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) aiming to establish good governance of advanced...
June 3, 2020

NanoHarmony Project Will Hold Introductory Webinar in July

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on July 7, 2020, on “Introducing the NanoHarmony project.”  Funded through Horizon 2020, NanoHarmony began on April 1, 2020.  NanoHarmony brings together 14 expert partners from ten European countries and will work alongside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to support the development of test guidelines and guidance documents for...
May 6, 2019

Germany Announces Research Project to Establish Criteria for Assessment of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of Novel (Nano) Materials

On April 29, 2019, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) announced InnoMat.Life, a joint research project to establish criteria for an efficient assessment of the human health and environmental risks of novel (nano) materials.  The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing 2.22 million euro to fund the project, which will be coordinated by BfR and includes ten partners from public authorities, academia, and industry.  BfR states that until now, nanosafety...
October 9, 2018

Slides Available from Scientific Workshop on Grouping of Nanomaterials

On September 12-13, 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), NanoReg2, and GRACIOUS hosted a “Scientific Workshop:  Grouping of Nanomaterials.”  The Workshop brought together 120 nanotechnology specialists from Europe, North America, and Asia to discuss a bottleneck in nanomaterials development and testing.  The agenda and the following slides from the workshop have been posted online:...
May 30, 2018

OECD Tour de Table Reports on Developments on Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a May 17, 2018, document entitled Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials — Tour de Table.  The document compiles information provided by delegations for the February 2018 OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) meeting on current developments on the safety of manufactured nanomaterials.  It aims to summarize relevant information on activities related to...
May 11, 2018

Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry Holds NanoDialog on Nano-In-Vivo

On April 23-24, 2018, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) held a NanoDialog to discuss “Nano-In-Vivo,” a long-term research project intended to close existing data gaps concerning the safety of nanomaterials.  BMU, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), and BASF SE, with the participation of the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM)...
November 6, 2017

BfR Publishes Q&A Regarding Study on Fate and Effects of Tattoo Pigments in Human Skin

On October 12, 2017, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published questions and answers (Q&A) regarding a study on whether nanometric pigments from tattoo inks can permanently accumulate in lymph nodes.  BfR states that by using X-rays from a particle accelerator in Grenoble, it discovered where the pigments accumulate in the tissue.  According to BfR, until now, the accumulation of pigments from tattooed persons has been known by optical coloring of the lymph nodes...
September 27, 2017

OECD Tour de Table Highlights International Developments on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials

On September 27, 2017, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a corrected version of the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials — Tour De Table, which covers developments on the safety of manufactured nanomaterials that were provided by OECD delegations from March to August 2017.  It summarizes relevant information on activities related to manufactured nanomaterials, as well as other activities on nanotechnologies...