Bergeson & Campbell are most popular:
- within Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration and Technology topic(s)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials — Tour de Table: July 2024 — June 2025 (Tour de Table). The Tour de Table lists U.S. developments on the human health and environmental safety of nanomaterials between June 2024 and May 2025:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received notification of “one nanoscale substances based for a multiwalled carbon nanotube” under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), bringing the total number of notifications to 90. EPA notes that reporting criteria exempt nanoscale chemical substances already reported as new chemicals under TSCA and those nanoscale chemical substances that did not have unique or novel properties. According to EPA, most reporting has been for metals or metal oxides.
- Additionally, EPA is reviewing six premanufacture notices (PMN), four of which are for multiwalled carbon nanotubes and two of which are for graphene materials. EPA notes that these six chemical substances are still being reviewed for potential risks to human health and the environment. EPA states that “[o]ne significant new use notice [(SNUN)] for a single-walled carbon nanotube is also under review for potential risks to human health and the environment.”
- According to EPA, since January 2005, it has received and reviewed almost 300 PMNs for nanoscale materials under TSCA, including fullerenes and carbon nano-onions, quantum dots, semiconducting nanoparticles, and carbon nanotubes. EPA notes that it has issued consent orders and Significant New Use Rules (SNUR) permitting manufacture of these new nanoscale materials under limited conditions. EPA states that it “will continue to issue SNURs and consent orders for new chemical nanoscale materials in the coming year.”
- Because of limited data to assess nanomaterials, EPA notes that the consent orders and SNURS contain requirements to limit exposure to workers through the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), limit environmental exposure by not allowing releases to surface waters or direct releases to air, and limit the specific applications/uses to those described in the new chemical notification.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]
