The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 12, 2020, that it is seeking public input on a proposal to incorporate a new nanosilver pesticide product into textiles to combat odors, discoloration, and other signs of wear.
The proposed registration decision is for NSPW Nanosilver, and the proposed pesticide product, Polyguard-NSPW Master Batch (Polyguard), will be incorporated into textiles to suppress bacteria, algae, fungus, mold, and mildew, which cause odors, discoloration, stains, and deterioration. According to EPA, based on its human health and ecological risk assessment, it has preliminarily determined that the new active ingredient in Polyguard meets the regulatory standard under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use as a materials preservative in textiles. Further information at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0043
On January 28, 2020, the European Union (EU) published The NanoDefine Methods Manual, a collection of three Joint Research Center (JRC) reports developed within the NanoDefine project “Development of an integrated approach based on validated and standardized methods to support the implementation of the EC recommendation for a definition of nanomaterial.” According to the Manual, the overall goal of the NanoDefine project was to support the implementation of the European Commission (EC) Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial (2011/696/EU). The Manual states that the project developed an integrated empirical approach that allows identifying a material as a nanomaterial according to the EC Recommendation.
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances (TLV®-CS) Committee has included carbon nanotubes on its 2020 list of chemical substances and other issues under study. Being placed on the under study list indicates that the TLV®-CS Committee has selected carbon nanotubes for development of a threshold limit value (TLV®). ACGIH® describes TLVs® as health-based values representing the opinion of the scientific community that exposure at or below the level of the TLV® does not create an unreasonable risk of disease or injury.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued a press release on February 24, 2020, stating that it has received a low number of registration dossiers for nanomaterials. ECHA states that it has received only 95 unique submissions for 36 substances covering nanoforms according to the updated Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation requirements. ECHA expected to receive updated registrations for approximately 300 substances, based on data from the Belgian and French national inventories and the European Commission’s (EC) catalog of nanomaterials used in cosmetic products. formulations.” The deadline for SCCS’s opinion is March 2020.
