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December 11, 2018
Nanosafety is becoming one of the main areas of concern among the civil society and the industry sector. It virtually affects all areas where nanomaterials are applied, including food, cosmetics, medical products, buildings and batteries, to name a few. Over the last decades, large amount of data has been collected on nanomaterials and many studies have been performed on risk assessment and their safety. However, the data generated and collected is not coherent and comparable for regulatory purposes. Therefore it is crucial to provide legally binding guidelines and standards for testing the safety of nanomaterials, and hence, the safety of the European citizens.
Preparatory work has been completed by the projects NANOREG and PROSAFE jointly funded by EU and Member States. These projects have been supported with significant international input from Brazil and South Korea and in close cooperation with similar work in the USA.
The "Malta Initiative" is a joint RTD – Member States initiative to increase EU presence and contribution on adapting and developing new nano-specific OECD testing guidelines and guidance documents. The European Commission was initially approached by Germany and the Netherlands to spearhead this initiative, together with other Member States, industry stakeholders and the Nanosafety Cluster.
Further information and agenda can be found here.