The European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published a press release on June 6, 2019, regarding its contribution to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) development of Test Guidelines for the safety assessment of nanomaterials. According to the press release, scientists from JRC have actively participated in discussions of the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) since early on. The press release states that the OECD Working Group of the National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Program (WNT) is responsible for the final development, discussion, and adoption of Test Guidelines, and JRC “plays an important role as a link between WPMN and this group.” JRC notes WPMN’s work regarding Test Guidelines includes:
- Four new Test Guidelines and five guidance documents currently being developed that address the characterization of nanomaterials, their possible fate in the environment, and possible genotoxic effects;
- Six more new proposals approved for development in April 2019 that will address environmental fate or possible sensitization effects; and
- Discussion and preparation of eight additional proposals for Test Guidelines or guidance documents addressing possible effects on human health and the environment.
More information is available in an article in the June 2019 issue of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, “Developing OECD test guidelines for regulatory testing of nanomaterials to ensure mutual acceptance of test data.”