23 November | Press release

46 NGOs from Europe, USA, South America and Asia are calling on the European Commission to ensure nanomaterials are adequately defined and regulated in the EU. Nanomaterials, used in a variety of everyday products, have been subject to a Europe wide public consultation with a view to finalising their legal definition.

By defining what nanomaterials are, long awaited regulation can finally be put in place to help ensure they are safe for people and the environment. The NGOs are calling on the European Commission to rapidly adopt a ’cautious and broad’ definition [1].

“Regulation has been stuck for many years because of the absence of a definition, so this proposed definition is very much welcome,” says Senior Attorney David Azoulay from the Center of International Environmental Law (CIEL).

“But if the final definition adopted is too narrow and does not include all materials for which there are health concerns, it might render all future regulation useless”, he added.

The recommendations were submitted by green group EEB and CIEL at the close of the consultation last Friday, and the Commission is set to adopt a final definition by the end of the year. The definition would be applicable to all EU legislation addressing nanomaterials [2].

The NGOs in particular welcome specific elements in the draft definition [3], but warn against any attempt to narrow the scope of the definition as it would exclude several materials for which there are already serious health and environmental concerns.

NGOs also call for prompt evaluation analysis to ensure that the final definition includes materials that are already of concern, while avoiding materials that are unlikely to warrant additional scrutiny.

Nanomaterials can appear in many everyday household products such as socks, tennis racquets and computer keyboards: “We urgently need risk management measures to ensure that companies only place safe nanomaterials on the market,” says Vito Buonsante, Health and Environment lawyer from ClientEarth.

ENDS

Contacts:

Lewis Merdler, Communications Officer, +44 (0)207 749 5954, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Louise Duprez, EEB Nanotechnology Policy Officer, +32 (0) 2289 1307, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

David Azoulay CIEL Senior Attorney, +41 (0)787 578 756, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Notes to editors:

Organisations who have signed the public consultation response:

1.                 Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

2.                 European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

3.                 Client Earth

4.                 European Environmental Citizens' Organisation for Standardisation

5.                 Food and Water Watch Europe

6.                 Friends of the Earth Europe

7.                 Greenpeace Europe

8.                 Health & Environment Alliance

9.                 Health Care Without Harm Europe

10.              Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable   Development (MIO –ECSDE)

11.              Pesticide Action Network Europe

12.              Women in Europe for a Common Future

13.              Action For Breast Cancer Foundation

14.              Associazione Malattie da Intossicazione Cronica e/o Ambientale

15.              Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUND/ FoE Germany)

16.              Deutscher Naturschutzring

17.              EU Environmental Bureau Austria / EU-Umweltbüro

18.              Federation inter-environnement Wallonie

19.              France nature Environnement

20.              Initiativ Liewensufank

21.              Institute for Sustainable Development

22.              International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) Luxembourg

23.              International Chemical Secretariat – ChemSec (Sweden)

24.              Pestizid Aktions-Netzwerk e.V. / Pesticide Action Network - Germany

25.              The Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA)

26.              APROMAC (Associaçao de Proteçao ao meio Ambiante de Cianorte ) (Brésil)

27.              Center for Food Safety (USA)

28.              Centro de Análisis y Acción en Tóxicos y sus Alternativas (CAATA) (Mexico)

29.              Citizen against chemical pollution (Japan)

30.              Commonweal (USA)

31.              Confederacion General del Trabajo de la Replublica Argentina

32.              Food and Water Watch US

33.              Friends of the Earth United States

34.              Grassroots Alliance PERESVET (Russia)

35.              Humane Society International (USA)

36.              Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) (USA)

37.              International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) (USA)

38.              International PoPs Elimination Network (IPEN)

39.              Island Sustainability Alliance (C.I.) Inc. (Cook Islands)

40.              Nanotechnology Citizen Engagement Organization (NanoCEO) (USA)

41.              National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (USA)

42.              National Toxic Network Inc. (Australia)

43.              Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa (New Zealand)

44.              Red de Accion sobre Plaguicidas y sus Alternativas para América Latina (RAP-AL)/ Pesticide Action Network Latin America (Mexico)

45.              SEEPOM (Société d’Education Environnementale et de Protection des Oiseaux au Maroc)

46.              Toxisphera (Brazil)

[1] NGOs recommendations in response to the European Commission’s public consultation on the definition of the term ‘nanomaterial’, November 2010

[2] European Commission’s draft recommendation on the definition of the term ‘nanomaterial’

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/pdf/recommendation_nano.pdf

[3] The NGOs in particular welcome the inclusion of the below in the draft definition:

•       The inclusion of aggregates and agglomerates;

•       The calculation of size distribution on the basis of particle number as opposed to mass;

•       The adoption of a 1% threshold for particle number size distribution to consider a material a nanomaterial.