Addressing the risks of nanomaterials under United States and European Union regulatory frameworks for chemicals

Abstract

This chapter focuses on risk assessment of nanomaterials currently in production. Some newly created nanomaterials have unique properties related to their stiffness, conductivity, color, or magnetism, and a number of other physical and chemical properties, when compared to bulk materials. To be sure, nanomaterials are not inherently harmful and in many cases their risk profiles may be similar to that of the same material in bulk form, but scientific uncertainty surrounding the known and unknown effects of nanomaterials poses a challenge for regulators. It is for this reason that policy-makers, civil society, industry representatives, and scientists have called for a careful review of whether current regulatory frameworks are equipped to deal adequately with the potential risks related to some nanomaterials. This chapter outlines the US and EU regulatory frameworks for chemicals and provides a comparative analysis of the regimes. Two principal laws govern chemicals regulation in the US: the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The chapter explores and compares the way in which the same hypothetical nanoscale substance would be treated under the US and EU frameworks