During a meeting by the European Commission’s (EC) Competent Authority Subgroup on Nanomaterials (CASG-nano) on March 26, 2014, the EC presented the options to be analyzed by an impact assessment of measures to increase transparency regarding nanomaterial use in Europe. The impact assessment is to evaluate the options to either (1) maintain the status quo, (2) provide a best practice recommendation for Member State nanomaterial inventories, (3) create a European level observatory, (4) propose a regulation for creating a European level inventory listing substances, or to (5) propose a regulation for creating a European level use focused inventory. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) opposes the proposed exceptions for fillers and pigments. Tatiana Santos, senior policy officer for chemicals and nanotechnology at the EEB stated that it makes no sense to exempt hundreds of nanomaterial simply because one will receive too much information. The EC’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) will publish an analytical report for the definition of nanomaterials in summer 2014 and the final recommendation is scheduled for November 2014. The spokesperson of the German Ministry of the Environment (UBA) stated that Germany expects a European level registry, as separate registries in each Member State are unlikely in the interest of the EC. In case, however, the EC decides otherwise, Germany is to consider its own nanomaterial registry (FPF reported).

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FPF article “Germany suggests horizontal European nano-registry

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