On July 21, 2016, the European Court of Auditors released Special Report No 18/2016: The EU system for the certification of sustainable biofuels. This report assessed the existing biofuels sustainability certification...more
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...more
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...more
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) recently submitted several draft guidance documents concerning nanomaterials to Partner Expert Groups (PEG) for consultation. Following consultation with PEGs, ECHA will consult its...more
On May 26, 2016, Poland was referred to the European Union (EU) Court of Justice for establishing restrictions for certain imported biofuels and raw materials used for the production of biofuel....more
On June 1, 2016, the German Environment Agency (UBA) published a report entitled Nanomaterials in the environment: Current state of knowledge and regulations on chemical safety. The aim of the report is to outline the...more
On April 26, 2016, a group of non-governmental organizations (NGO), consumer groups, and research organizations issued a press release expressing “disappointment with the European Commission’s [(EC)] continuing failure to...more
The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) met on March 7-9, 2016. The meeting minutes include the following summary regarding SCOEL’s discussion of nanomaterials...more
The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) recently published a report entitled NANoREG harmonised terminology for environmental health and safety assessment of nanomaterials, developed within the NANoREG...more
The February 24, 2016, Official Journal of the European Union includes the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on “Nanotechnology for a competitive chemical industry.” The opinion addresses...more
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has begun a public consultation on its draft guidance on the preparation and presentation of an application for authorization of a novel food. As reported in our December 22, 2015,...more
In December 2015, the proceedings from the March 12-13, 2015, U.S.-European Union (EU) joint workshop on “Bridging NanoEHS Research Efforts” were posted online. The workshop was sponsored by the European Commission (EC) and...more
On December 17, 2015, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) posted a request for a scientific opinion on three coatings for titanium dioxide (nano) as an ultraviolet (UV)-filter in dermally applied cosmetic...more
The European Commission (EC) published the final novel foods regulation in the December 11, 2015, issue of the Official Journal of the European Union. Under the regulation, food consisting of engineered nanomaterials should...more
The European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has posted for comment its opinion on hydroxyapatite (nano). According to the opinion, the EC received 35 notifications of cosmetic products...more
The Joint Research Center (JRC) published on October 19, 2015, a report entitled Towards a review of the EC Recommendation for a definition of the term “nanomaterial”: Part 3: Scientific-technical evaluation of options to...more
On September 14, 2015, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) posted a request from the EC for a scientific opinion on titanium dioxide (nano) as a UV-filter in sunscreens and personal...more
The European Commission (EC) invites scientists to apply for membership in its non-food scientific committees, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging...more
The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced on July 10, 2015, the publication of its third report in its review of the EC recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial. The report is the last in a...more
Taking Nanotechnological Remediation Processes from Lab Scale to End User Applications for the Restoration of a Clean Environment (NanoRem) is a research project funded through the European Commission (EC) FP7....more
On March 24, 2015, the European Commission (EC) announced a call for data on the ingredient “colloidal silver (nano).” According to the EC, it has received notification of several cosmetics products containing the ingredient...more
On April 9, 2015, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) posted a Position Statement on emerging and newly identified health risks to be drawn to the...more
On January 13, 2015, the European Commission (EC) and its Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published the final opinion “Guidance on the Determination of Potential Health Effects of...more
The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) has published a report entitled Towards a review of the EC Recommendation for a definition of the term “nanomaterial” -- Part 2: Assessment of collected information...more
The European Commission (EC) has posted responses received to its public consultation on transparency measures for nanomaterials on the market. The EC states that it received 202 responses -- 100 respondents submitted the...more