Regulatory Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials : Are we facing the same challenges as the regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals?

The Nordic NanoNet Workshop and EDC discussion was organised in October 2011 in Espoo, Finland as part of the 2011 Finnish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers (NMR). The workshop focused on the safety assessment and management of nanomaterials (NMs) while reflecting on experiences in regulating endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). This report describes the presentations, break-out group discussions and conclusions of the meeting. The regulatory frameworks and links between NMs and EDCs as well as the applicability of test guidelines and risk assessment tools for nanomaterials were addressed in presentations and break-out group work. Regulatory possibilities were further considered in a panel-led discussion. The Nordic dimension was of special interest: strengthening of Nordic regulatory cooperation in the field of nanosafety gained support, while commencing a TG/GD project in the OECD test guideline programme was seen a concrete idea for future cooperation.