JRC at the US-EU Joint workshop "Bridging nanoEHS research efforts"

Apr 1, 2011

European and US scientists and policymakers as well as industry researchers met at a joint US-EU workshop to discuss environmental, health and safety (EHS) concerns related to nanomaterials and nanotechnology-based products.

JRC's Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) Director Elke Anklam gave one of the opening presentations at the workshop which was held on 10-11 March in Washington. She emphasised the need of a transition process from research on new technologies to their inclusion in the legislation. She also highlighted that harmonisation of safety assessment methods are key to success together with an adequate definition of nanomaterials.A series of sessions created an open forum for a discussion and encouraged networking for future cooperation between European and American partners. Many of the European participants are coordinators of projects funded by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation.Other JRC researchers included Hermann Stamm, Head of Nanobiosciences Unit in the IHCP, who spoke about the need for research to support formal consumer-protection legislation and fellow colleague Frans Christensen, who made a presentation on the critical data necessary to understand nanoparticle exposure to consumers and the general population.

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm?id=1410&obj_id=13070&dt_code=NWS&lang=en