New OECD Test Guidelines for nanomaterials

(Nanowerk News) The OECD has released a first set of Test Guidelines developed specifically for nanomaterials, in response to their increased production and usage. The guidelines will help standardise the way countries test the safety of manufactured nanomaterials, whose near atomic-sized particles mean they may require more than regular chemical testing to understand their impact on health and the environment.
Test Guideline 318: Dispersion Stability of Nanomaterials in Simulated Environmental Media will help to assess how a particular nanomaterial would behave in contact with water or other liquids, making it applicable for testing nanomaterials likely to enter the natural environment, agriculture and food production, or to be in everyday skin contact with people through clothing or toiletries.
Additionally, updates to two existing Test Guidelines for inhalation toxicity studies (Guideline 412 and Guideline 413) mean they can now be used to determine the toxicity of inhaled nanomaterials.
The use of nanomaterials has skyrocketed of late, with manufacturers using them to improve performance in everything from tennis rackets to deodorant, yet nanoparticles can more easily penetrate skin, cells and the environment than larger compounds, and the increased likelihood of them entering the environment and human and animal bodies has raised concerns over their safety.
Working for 45 years to standardise methodologies for hazard testing and assessment, the OECD has produced over 160 harmonised test methods for determining physical and chemical properties, the effects of chemicals on health, wildlife and the environment, the efficacy of biocides and the chemistry of pesticide residues.
OECD Test Guidelines are used on a daily basis to test and assess the safety of industrial chemicals, pesticides and personal care products. They are part of the OECD’s Mutual Acceptance of Data programme, which saves over 150 million euros a year for its 42 signatory countries by avoiding duplication, as test data generated in one country is accepted by others having the same data requirement.
Source: OECD