Europäische Sammlung von Referenzmaterialien soll die Sicherheitsbeurteilung verbessern
Die Gemeinsame Forschungsstelle der Europäischen Kommission für Referenzmaterialien und -messungen des Joint Research Centre (JRC) hat die erste europäische Sammlung von Nanomaterialien errichtet. Darin enthalten sind 25 verschiedene Typen von Nano-Referenzmaterialien. Dadurch soll die Sicherheitsbeurteilung unterstützt und der Verbraucherschutz und das Vertrauen in viele innovative Anwendungen und Produkte gestärkt werden. Durch eine harmonisierte Risikobeurteilung kann die Sammlung zum Erfolg der Nanotechnologien, einer der vielversprechensten technologischen Entwicklungen der heutigen Zeit, und ihrer Produkte beitragen. Standardisierte Methoden und Materialien sind notwendig, um weltweit vergleichbare Testergebnisse und verlässliche Daten für Politik und Regulierung zu liefern.
Launching the repository officially today, Elke Anklam, Director of the JRC Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP), said: "This unique repository fosters standardisation in safety assessment and facilitates innovation by creating a common and consistent measurement framework for all stakeholders. This will both support international harmonisation bodies for standardising risk assessment as well as EU policy makers for regulatory issues."
Nanomaterials may offer a range of benefits over traditional materials and enable the development of innovative applications and products. For European industry to capitalise in the best sense from nanotechnologies, it is essential that the EU has a wellconsidered regulatory framework covering issues related to safe practices in the manufacturing process, consumer health, and protection of the environment.
Such a framework depends on harmonised and science based risk assessment. In order to ensure the comparability of the underlying data obtained in the many international test laboratories, the availability of representative reference nanomaterials is essential.
This first European repository of nanomaterials has been created by the JRC in response to needs for safetyassessment testing from experts in the major international standardisation bodies. The repository contains most types of nanomaterials currently assumed to be used in significant volumes in consumer products. Some 8000 test samples have already been distributed to European national authorities, EU-funded research projects, and have also been used in international scientific cooperation initiatives (such as the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials). The nanomaterials contained in the repository are produced in collaboration with the German Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) under Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) conditions. The 25 types of material include carbon nanotubes, silver nanoparticles, titanium dioxide, cerium oxide, zinc oxide, bentonite, gold and silicon dioxide.
For more information on JRC activities in nanotechnology, please visit: http://ihcp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
Kontakt:
Berta Duane, JRC Press Officer: berta.duane@ec.europa.eu
Barbara Piotrowska, JRCIHCP
Communication Officer: barbara.piotrowska@ec.europa.eu
Quelle: JRC Press Release