Information gathering schemes on nanomaterials: Lessons learned and reported information

(Nanowerk News) This document (pdf) presents lessons learned from information gathering surveys carried out by OECD countries and summarises non-confidential business information and statistics on nanomaterials. It includes useful information on how to design/implement information gathering surveys and the most commonly used nanomaterials along with use patterns and volumes used among OECD countries.
One of the objectives of the OECD Project on Co-operation on Voluntary Schemes and Regulatory Programmes on Nanomaterials is to gather information on the lessons learned from countries that have completed information gathering initiatives, and summarise non-confidential business information and statistics on nanomaterials reported, to provide insight on global market activity.
To meet this objective, two questionnaires were implemented. The first questionnaire (2008) focused on which information gathering initiatives were implemented, as well as a review of the information included, which allowed an analysis on how these schemes are developed. The second questionnaire (2010), aimed at analysing lessons learned from the Information gathering initiatives; and to collect information on reported nanomaterials. This document presents the results of the second questionnaire. It was distributed amongst those countries that have already completed an information gathering survey in order to gather their data and experience in implementing these schemes.
It is important to note that the information presented in this report represents only a portion of the activity and information available within OECD countries. Not all OECD countries have conducted an information gathering scheme. Furthermore, they have targeted different industries and thus collected different kinds of information. It should be noted that despite the low or very low response rates in some cases (see Part A of the Questionnaire) or confidentiality issues that prevented the reporting, some interesting observations could be made from the information obtained.
Source: OECD