15 NGOs call for a clearer definition of the term “nanomaterials”
Fifteen NGOs have sent an open letter to the European Commission asking it to clarify and improve its definition of the term “nanomaterials”.
After seven years of delay and procrastination, the European Commission hastily launched a so-called “consultation” last May-June, which proposes unclear changes and, worse, is likely to make a large number of manufactured nanoparticles disappear from the authorities’ radar.
While the registration of nanomaterials in REACH is already deficient (there are half as many nanomaterials registered in REACH as there are in the French r-nano register) and their labeling is mostly unenforced, this setback in the monitoring of nanomaterials is particularly worrying.

The NGOs would therefore like the Commission to open the discussion so that this definition can be reworked collectively before being integrated into the various European regulations.
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