Regulation

The NanoEthicsBank collects examples of laws governing the use of nanomaterials, as well as publications outlining how developments in the regulation of engineered nanomaterials is influencing their use in manufacturing and in consumer products. Below is a list of government agency websites and seminal reports discussing the regulation of nanotechnologies both in the U.S. and internationally.

United States

EPA – Control of Nanomaterials Under the Toxic Substances Control Act
This page summarizes the latest developments of how the Toxic Substances Control Act is being applied to engineered nanomaterials.

Food and Drug Administration- Nanotechnology
This web page summarizes some of the FDA’s main activities in the field of nanotechnology, including the Nanotechnology Task Force report from July 2007. Recent news from all major U.S. government agencies can also be found in the Federal Register (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/) by doing a keyword search.

Europe

European Commission - Nanomaterials and REACH
This website from the European Commission's Directorate General for for Enterprise and Industry gives an overview of how REACH regulations apply to nanomaterials, and provides links to key publications on this topic.

REACH and the Regulation of Nanotechnology by Bryan Ward and Sarah S. Harley.
This article published in the December 2009 SafeNano Newsletter, discusses how the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation relates to manufactured nanoscale materials, and includes a list of further resources.

Worldwide

Nanotech Regulatory Document Archive
The Nanotech Regulatory Document Archive is a free, searchable database of governmental documents from around the world relating to nanotechnology regulation.

Mapping Study on Regulation and Governance of Nanotechnologies
In January 2009, the FramingNano project, funded under the EU’s FP 7 science and technology program, published this report which summarizes how countries around the world are working to understand and regulate the health, safety, and environmental effects and ethical and societal effects of nanotechnology. The report includes a series of appendixes that give a detailed summary of research initiatives, legislation, national strategies, and guidance documents developed by European nations, as well as the U.S., China, Japan, and Australia.