Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

As one who has closely followed the emergence of nanotechnology, I am sure I was not alone several years ago in welcoming what appeared to be a refreshingly new attitude among a broad range of stakeholders toward the introduction of this new set of technologies and materials.  Calls from my organization to "get nanotech right the first time" were echoed widely.  Perhaps the most frequently used metaphor, though, was that a "window of opportunity" had opened to do things differently this time.  But I increasingly fear that the window is closing. Read more »

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

It had to happen sooner or later. After several years spent by the UK and US governments conceptualizing, vetting, proposing, again vetting, developing, yet again vetting, and finally launching and reporting on their voluntary reporting programs for engineered nanoscale materials - only to have them largely spurned by the intended targets - other governments observing all this have decided that mandatory approaches are needed. Read more »

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

It's been nearly a year since EPA launched its voluntary Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP) - and over three years since EPA was urged, by a diverse group of stakeholders, to do so only in conjunction with the development of mandatory reporting rules as a backstop and to limit the duration of the basic part of the program to at most six months.

EPA ignored that advice, and proceeded with an open-ended voluntary program and no development of backstop rules.  Now EPA has issued its first evaluation of the NMSP.  So what did EPA find? Read more »

Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.

In 2004, Gunter Oberdorster and colleagues demonstrated that upon inhalation, ultrafine particles, the dimensions of which are measured in nanometers, can move from the nasal passages of rodents to the brain via a specialized nerve called the olfactory bulb.  The evolutionary purpose of the olfactory bulb is to relay information about odors directly and rapidly from the nose to the brain. 

The extent to which rapid transit via the olfactory bulb is a significant potential route of exposure to engineered nanomaterials is still an open question.  But two new papers add support for the relevance of this intriguing exposure pathway, raising important questions regarding the safety of inhaled nanoparticles. 

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John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.

Some 216 delegates representing 26 countries converged on the largest city in China last week for the 7^th meeting of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC 229) on Nanotechnologies.

In China, the turtle symbolizes cosmic order, strength, endurance and wisdom.  In the US, the turtle has come to symbolize slow progress and not keeping up with the times.  Which representation better captures what's going on in ISO's TC 229?   Maybe a little of both. Read more »

John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.

At its most recent meeting a few weeks ago, the US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee on Nanotechnologies approved a motion to have ISO develop a Technical Report based on the EDF-Dupont Nano Risk Framework (NRF). Or to put it another way in acronym-laden Washington-speak, the US TAG to the ANSI-accredited ISO TC229 approved a TR based on the EDF-DD NRF. Read more »

Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.

Andrew Maynard, of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, recently blogged about an Australian study that documented an odd effect of sunscreens containing nanoscale titanium dioxide (TiO2).  The study was prompted by the observation that installers of metal roofs who used these sunscreens inadvertently transferred the product onto the roofs. In places where the workers’ skin had touched the painted metal surfaces, the paint showed accelerated weathering. Why?  Because the particular type of nanoscale TiO2 in the sunscreen (the anatase crystal form) is photoactive – when it absorbs UV light, it releases free radicals that speed up the oxidation of the underlying paint.

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 Scott Walsh, MBA, is a Project Manager.

Nanotechnology is a global phenomenon:  Organizations all over the world are working to develop and deploy nanotechnology applications.  Interest in minimizing the potential health, environmental and safety risks of nanotechnology is similarly global.  One of many indications:  Over the past year, EDF and DuPont's Nano Risk Framework  has been downloaded more than 3,000 times in nearly 100 countries. 

Recognizing the international interest in the Framework, EDF and DuPont have now made it available in three major languages: Mandarin, French, and Spanish. (The Framework's executive summary is also available in Portuguese.) These translations will allow organizations around the world to better understand and apply the Framework's guidance to assess, mitigate, and communicate about potential nanomaterial risks.

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Scott Walsh, MBA, is a Project Manager.

As we've noted in this blog and elsewhere, there's a ton of uncertainty out there about what potential risks may arise from the production, use and disposal of engineered nanomaterials.  And unfortunately for companies trying to work with such materials (and the rest of us who may be exposed to them), there's still not much guidance on how to identify, manage and mitigate potential risks. 

On April 2nd and April 8th, Terry Medley and Keith Swain from DuPont and I will be leading two interactive workshops on nano risk management.   Read more »

Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., is a Health Scientist.

In the current regulatory environment, where there are no regulations that specifically take into account the unique properties of engineered nanomaterials, industry has by default the primary responsibility for their safe production and use. Is industry taking this responsibility seriously?

Two recent studies, one in Europe and one in the U.S., shed light on this question and reveal some reasons to be concerned. Read more »