• Nathalie Tufenkji, McGill University, “Measuring the Effectiveness of Protective Gloves for Working with Nanoparticles in Conditions Simulating their Use in the Workplace”;
• Maximilian Debia, Université de Montréal, “The Development and Validation of Methods for Sampling and Characterizing Engineered Nanomaterials in Air and on Workplace Surfaces”; and
• Karim Maghni, Université de Montréal, “The Development and Validation of Universal NanoBadge prototypes (u-Nanobadge) for Evaluating Pulmonary and Cutaneous Exposure to Engineered Nanoparticles.”

According to IRSST, the projects will likely take two years to complete and will involve collaborators from various institutions, as well as students.

• Public concern;
• Consumers choice;
• Traceability;
• Information (for authorities, in the supply chain, for consumers); and
• Proportionality, etc.

• Improve information gathering and communication at the project level;
• Develop and implement interagency plans for focused areas;
• Rework the NNI website to serve better the diversity of stakeholder groups;
• Take advantage of new technologies for data collection and analysis; and
• Identify, share, and implement best practices, especially relating to technology transfer and commercialization.

In its report, the NRC assesses NNI’s role in maximizing opportunities to transfer selected technologies to the private sector and suggests improvements and new mechanisms intended to foster technology transfer. The NRC evaluates the suitability of current procedures and criteria to determine progress toward NNI goals, and recommends “explicit definitions of success for and metrics associated with meeting those goals.” The NRC also reviews the NNI’s management and coordination of nanotechnology research across participating federal agencies.

(A) IN GENERAL. -- The term ‘special substance characteristic’ means a physical, chemical, or biological characteristic, other than molecular identity, that the Administrator determines, by order or rule, may significantly affect the risks posed by substances exhibiting that characteristic.

(B) CONSIDERATIONS. -- In determining the existence of special substance characteristics, the Administrator may consider --

(i) size or size distribution;

(ii) shape and surface structure;

(iii) reactivity; and

(iv) any other properties that may significantly affect the risks posed.

It is now expected that Senator David Vitter (R-LA), ranking minority member of the Committee, will introduce his version of a TSCA reform bill, a possibility that has been discussed in the trade press for months. More information is available in Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s April 11, 2013, memorandum.

The proposed stepwise information requirement scheme consists of four tonnage levels that could correspond to the REACH tonnage trigger levels or be lowered. The proposal includes a number of “new” information requirements as compared to those for non-nanoscale materials, most of which relate to the description/characterization of nanomaterials and other physicochemical properties. For a number of existing information requirements, the proposal would adapt the endpoints and/or modify the adaptation rules. The proposal reviews more general issues that the Danish EPA states “should be addressed in relation to a regulatory testing requirements scheme for nanomaterials, possibly in the legislation itself, but certainly in guidance.”

• Develop adequate measurement methods for risk assessment;
• Develop reference materials for exposure assessment and studies into the effects of nanomaterials on humans and the environment;
• Validate and harmonize test and evaluation strategies “in a national and international context” to allow results to be compared;
• Develop screening tests for adverse health and environmental risks at an early stage of material innovation;
• Develop ideas for labeling single nanomaterials; and
• Work on grouping nanomaterials based on their properties to reduce the number of complex single investigations.

The report was prepared by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Federal Environment Agency, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.

This first white paper, The Blend Wall and Fuel Compatibility Issues, focuses on one of the most pressing and complicated policy challenges facing proponents and opponents of biofuels. The paper recognizes a changed fuels refining environment from 2007, where fuel demand has fallen dramatically and 10 percent ethanol blends (the conventional ethanol blend percentage) are rapidly approaching saturation in the fuel pool. It discusses various aspects of mid-level ethanol blends (E15, E85), which have the ability to introduce higher volumes of biofuels than conventional blend levels. Some key questions posed at the end of the white paper for biofuels stakeholders relate to the feasibility of mid-level ethanol blends, the marketing and mis-fueling challenges to mid-level blends, the economics of the Blend Wall, and the intersection of new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) vehicle standards and the RFS. The Committee asks stakeholders to respond to the first paper by April 5, 2013.

ICEMN is a consortium of stakeholders involved with the production, assessment, and use of nanomaterials working collectively and cooperatively to provide information that would address environmental measurement of nanoscale materials and to enhance the state of the science in this regard. The Consortium includes representatives from industry, academia, and government groups, and is managed by B&C Consortia Management, L.L.C. In June 2011, ICEMN convened a workshop at the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA) to share information on existing and emerging measurement strategies and to dialogue on expectations for the future. This workshop, and the expressed desire by the California regulatory staff for more information on this critical issue, was the catalyst for the ICEMN publication.

(a) [A]ny use where the substance is engineered to contain particles of particle size ranging from 1 to 100 nanometres in one or more dimensions, in a quantity greater than 100 kg per calendar year other than for a use described in paragraph (b); or

(b) [T]he use as an ink additive in commercial or industrial settings where the substance is engineered to contain particles of particle size ranging from 1 to 100 nanometres in one or more dimensions, in a quantity greater than 1,000 kg per calendar year.

The notice specifies data that must be provided to Canada 90 days before commencement of the proposed SNAc. Canada notes that, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, in circumstances where a SNAc notice is issued for a new substance, “it is the responsibility of every person who transfers the physical possession or control of the substance to notify all persons to whom the possession or control is transferred of the obligation to comply with the Significant New Activity Notice and of the obligation to notify the Minister of the Environment of any new activity and all other information as described in the Notice.” Users are responsible for being aware of and complying with the SNAc notice and submitting a SNAc notification prior to the commencement of a SNAc associated with the substance.