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OECD to release preliminary guidance for testing of manufactured nanomaterials
04/11/2009
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has announced that it will release, in the next four to five weeks, a new document entitled "Preliminary Guidance Notes on Sample Preparation and Dose Symmetry for the Safety Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials." The report will offer guidance on the preparation of samples used for safety testing of manufactured nanomaterials.
Peter Kearns, Principal Administrator at OECD's Environment Directorate, said the document addresses "...one of the most problematic areas that people have had to think about not just in safety testing but in testing of nanomaterials in general," adding that "[M]aterials tend to agglomerate or will attach themselves to other things that are in the [test] medium. So there is always the possibility that people are not testing the thing that they thought they were testing." Sample preparation is, therefore, critical when conducting safety testing, and the new guidelines will address many of these issues.
Kearns said a new draft of the document will also be released in about one year, after experts around the world have had time to comment on the document.
The OECD, in related work, will be collaborating with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research on regional events on nanotechnology, by explaining the human health and environmental safety aspects of nanotechnology at their regional meetings. The first will be held on 27th November in Beijing, China, for the Asia Pacific region.
Source: Meridian Nanotechnology & Development News
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