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Spain is participating in some of the OECD Committees and Working Groups related to nanotechnology: • Working Party on Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotechnology,
laser sources traced to the national standard of length, for the benefit of Institutes, R&D Centres, Universities and Industry. A EURAMET Workshop with participation of all teams currently working on - or that have worked on metrological AFM, will be held soon.
• Working
Party Nanomaterials.
on
Manufactured
• Working Party on Nanotechnology.
REACH—European Community legislation concerned with chemicals and their safe use— plays also a role, albeit limited, in regulating nanomaterials. The general opinion today is that REACH can adequately regulate nanomaterials, but there is a need for future revisions of REACH to move the focus of regulation from the size/shape of nanomaterials to also their functionality 9.
Figure 3: Grid Calibration AFM (Nanotec)
2.3 Standardization Very important also is the series of Conferences “NanoScale” (www.nanoscale.de) where, since 1995, the main developments on quantitative measurements at the nanoscale have taken place. These seminars on Quantitative Microscopy and Nanoscale Calibration Standards and Methods, taking place every two years, with open workshops of European research projects related to the Coordination of Nanometrology, have developed an increased number of methods and calibration standards to benefit all users aware of instrumentation, no matter where they work (R&D, industry, Universities, etc.) helping them to maintain the traceability and accuracy of their instruments, and the reliability of the results.
There is a key role for standardization as regards measurement and testing of the characteristics and behaviour of nanomaterials and the exposure assessment, complementing the work being carried out in the framework of the OECD and in the context of the implementation of REACH. The European Commission therefore requests CEN, CENELEC and ETSI to develop standardization deliverables applicable to a) Characterization and exposure assessment of nanomaterials and b) Health, Safety & Environment. Specifically: 1. Methodologies for nanomaterials characterization in the manufactured form and before toxicity and eco-toxicity testing.
2.2 Risk Assessment A forum where international coordination is taking place is the OECD. At the present time the OECD plays a central role in the coordination of research efforts for the development of test methodologies for risk assessment which will underpin the regulation of nanotechnologies.
2. Sampling and measurement of workplace, consumer and environment exposure to nanomaterials.
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NANOMETROLOGY, NANO-ECO-TOXICOLOGY AND STANDARDIZATION
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