Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

React now regarding nanomaterial regulation

Nature Nanotechnology volume 12, pages 714–716 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

The time has come to implement a regulatory framework tailored to manufactured materials. I propose a new legislative framework that combines registration, evaluation, authorization and categorization of nanomaterials.

In the December 2016 issue of Nature Nanotechnology, Maynard and Aitken took a look at how far we have come in the past ten years, and where we still need to go, by reflecting on their landmark article on the grand challenges to support the safe handling of nanotechnology1. The state of nanomaterial regulation is not mentioned in the article although it is of paramount importance when it comes to addressing these grand challenges, especially in regions of the world where the burden of ensuring safety prior to use is supposedly on the manufacturers and importers of nanomaterials. Another landmark work published a decade ago is the report by Davies2, who, as one of the authors of what became the Toxic Substances Control Act in the United States of America, provided an in-depth analysis of existing US laws and legal authorities related to nanomaterials and argued that only a separate, specific regulation on nanomaterials can be tailored to the unique properties of nanotechnology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

References

  1. Maynard, A. & Aitken, R. J. Nat. Nanotech. 11, 998–1000 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Davies, J. C. Managing the Effects of Nanotechnology (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2006); http://go.nature.com/2udyt4T

    Google Scholar 

  3. Savolainen, K. et al. Nanosafety in Europe 2015–2025: Towards Safe and Sustainable Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Innovations (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 2013); http://go.nature.com/2u8JTXX

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hansen. et al. Environ. Sci. Nano 4, 282–291 (2016).

  5. Categorisation of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Workshop Report ENV/JM/MONO(2016)9 (OECD, 2016); http://go.nature.com/2uQY5lS

  6. Hansen, S. F. Nat. Nanotech. 8, 305–306 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Scientific Basis for the Definition of the Term “Nanomaterial” (SCENIHR, 2010); http://go.nature.com/2uidBul

  8. Commission Recommendation of 18 October 2011 on the Definition of Nanomaterial (European Commission, 2011); http://go.nature.com/2ue9FtB

  9. Report on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Novel Foods COM(2013).0894 – C7–0487/2013 – 2013/0435(COD) (European Parliament, 2014); http://go.nature.com/2terDYQ

  10. REACH Implementation Project Substance Identification of Nanomaterials (RIP-oN 1) (European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2011); http://go.nature.com/2tI8hi8

  11. Hansen, S. F., Jensen, K. A. & Baun, A. J. Nanopart. Res. 16, 2195 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Hjorth, R. et al. Integr. Environ. Assess. Manag. 13, 177–187 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I thank T. Dolin for technical assistance with the design of Fig. 1.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Steffen Foss Hansen is in the Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljoevej Building 115, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark,

    Steffen Foss Hansen

Authors
  1. Steffen Foss Hansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steffen Foss Hansen.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Table 1

Overview of information requirements in REACT NOW (PDF 198 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hansen, S. React now regarding nanomaterial regulation. Nature Nanotech 12, 714–716 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.163

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.163

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Find nanotechnology articles, nanomaterial data and patents all in one place. Visit Nano by Nature Research