Civil society concerns and demands regarding the EC “nanomaterial” definition

An open letter from a coalition of civil society organisations to the European Commission expressing concerns over the revision process and potential outcomes of the definition of "nanomaterial".

• Civil society organisations argue that the May-June 2021 online consultation was flawed due to short notice and a lack of clarity regarding the rationale for proposed changes, which they claim favoured industry stakeholders.
• The authors contend that proposed modifications to the nanomaterial definition could exclude substances previously covered by the 2011 recommendation, potentially undermining the "Zero Pollution ambition" and the goal of a "toxic-free environment".
• The letter highlights systemic issues with nanomaterial oversight, including the use of unauthorised nanomaterials in consumer products and under-registration within REACH, noting that only 150 nanoforms are registered in REACH compared to double that amount in the French r-nano register.
• The coalition demands that the European Commission justify modifications with real-world examples, assess full impacts, and hold transparent public Q&A sessions with independent experts to ensure a scientifically reliable definition.
• The authors suggest that the revised definition should consider scientific evidence such as EFSA guidance from June 2021, which focuses on materials where more than 10% of particles have at least one external dimension smaller than 500 nm.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2022). Civil society concerns and demands regarding the EC “nanomaterial” definition. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022_02_08_CIEL_Open-letter_definition-nanomaterial.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Civil society concerns and demands regarding the EC “nanomaterial” definition. 2022. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022_02_08_CIEL_Open-letter_definition-nanomaterial.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Civil society concerns and demands regarding the EC “nanomaterial” definition |date=8 February 2022 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022_02_08_CIEL_Open-letter_definition-nanomaterial.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2022civil, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Civil society concerns and demands regarding the EC “nanomaterial” definition}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022_02_08_CIEL_Open-letter_definition-nanomaterial.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }