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EXCLUSIVE Documents now available on the NIA Website
Published: Tuesday 20 April 2010
Registered NIA Members can now download the following exclusive documents (i.e. Meeting Presentations, Meeting Notes, etc.), recently uploaded onto the secure ‘Members only’-area of the NIA website.
Restricted Documents & Publications
This page allows access to selected documents and publications, made available by the NIA and/or third parties for use by NIA Members only.
20th April 2010
Nanomaterials under REACH: Legal Aspects
(kindly provided by the Nanotechnology-Team at MayerBrown, published in the newly launched European Journal for Risk Regulation (Issues 1/2010; April 2010))
Sneak Preview:
At the time that REACH was being drawn up, the issue of nanomaterials was only in its infancy, so no specific provisions were adopted in the REACH Regulation to address them.
While everyone recognises the important industrial and competitiveness potential of nanomaterials, the uncertainties over their potential impact on human health and the environment are also highlighted, triggering calls for a review and possible adaptations to the regulatory system in place. With respect to REACH, the Commission has started to consider possible legislative changes; however, these are likely to take several years to materialise.
In the meantime, some Member States are considering initiatives to impose national rules, including reporting schemes and labelling requirements. The legality of these measures is questionable, however, considering that REACH today applies to nanomaterials, as also to any other chemical substance and that the REACH Regulation is regarded as totally harmonising the market access conditions for chemical substances in the EU.
Our article summarises the current regulatory status of nanomaterials under REACH and specifies the legal framework under which the legality of national initiatives contemplated by the Member States to regulate nanomaterials must be reviewed.
Registered NIA Members can download the full REACH Article from the'Members only'-area on the NIA website by following the link to 'Restricted Docs & Pubs’.