EPA Extends comment period

Wednesday's Federal Register carried a notice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extending the comment period for proposed methods of collecting information regarding the use of nanoscale materials in pesticides published in the Federal Register of June 17, 2011. The original deadline for submitting comments was July 18, 2011. The deadline for submission has been extended to august 17, 2011.

The 30 day extension was requested by four commenters - Croplife America, a trade group repsenting " the developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of plant science solutions for agriculture and pest management in the United States", the American Chemical Council, the Chemical Producers and Distributors Association, a trade group "representing the interests of generic pesticide registrants, with a membership that includes manufacturers, formulators, and distributors of pesticide products", and theInternational Center for Technology Assessment, "a non-profit, bi-partisan organization committed to providing the public with full assessments and analyses of technological impacts on society". The comments may beviewed on Regulations.gov.

Information on submitting comments is available from either the original notice or the notice published on Wednesday.

Nanoscale Carbon: In Vivo Tox Bibliography

The NanoSafety Consortium for Carbon has recently posted a bibliography of in vivo tox studies on its website.  The bibliography is (obviously) a work in progress.  We would greatly appreciate it if our readers would bring to our attention any pertinent articles that are not already on the bibliography.  The articles will be used to inform and guide our attempt in crafting a representative toxicity testing regime with US EPA.  Many thanks in advance for your input.

NanoSafety Consortium for Carbon

Just a quick plug for our new NanoSafety Consortium for Carbon which was recently launched to address potential EHS issues concerning its members' products.  You can learn more about the consortium at: www.nanosafetyconsortium.com.

Nanotechnology Law Report -- Spring 2009