Nanomaterials: European Commission Recommends a Case-by-Case Approach to Risk Assessments

On October 3, 2012, the European Commission issued a communication on the second regulatory review relating to nanomaterials, and outlined its projects to improve the EU legislation and guarantee the safe use of nanomaterials.

The Commission stated that risk assessments should be performed on a case-by-case basis, using indications of potential risks, in terms of exposure or hazards. Although a growing volume of data has become available on the hazardous properties of nanomaterials, it is difficult to generalize such data. Hence the need to perform specific risk assessments.

The Commission is currently working on detection, measurement and monitoring methods for nanomaterials and their validation, in order to allow operators to determine whether the materials used in their manufacturing process fall within the European Commission's definition of "nanomaterial," which is based solely on the size of the constituent particles of a material, without regard to hazard or risk.