Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (JD Supra France)

On June 3, 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published an interview with Aurélie Niaudet, who is in charge of assessing the risks associated with physical agents. Niaudet states that nanomaterials have novel properties that “are highly sought after and increasingly exploited, but can also induce specific types of behaviour when interacting...

On March 4, 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) announced that it is recommending an eight-hour occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 0.80 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) for titanium dioxide nanoparticles. According to ANSES, compliance with this value “should help prevent lung inflammation, an effect that occurs at the lowest exposure...

On June 9, 2020, the French National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) issued a press release, in French, proposing an inventory of manufactured nanomaterials in food. According to ANSES, manufactured nanomaterials are used in food:

On April 17, 2019, the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition issued a press release announcing that France will prohibit foods containing food additive E171 (titanium dioxide) from being placed on the market beginning January 1, 2020.

On August 13, 2018, France’s Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Brune Poirson, announced during an interview a new plan to charge ten percent more for packaged products that do not use recycled plastic in 2019.

UFC-Que Choisir, a French non-governmental organization (NGO), announced on January 23, 2018, that it filed complaints against nine manufacturers of food and cosmetic products for failure to comply with the requirement to report the presence of nanomaterials on the product label. UFC-Que Choisir states that its analysis covered 20 consumer products (seven food products, nine cosmetics, and four...

On November 23, 2017, the French National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (INRS) published a report summarizing studies and research completed in 2016 and in progress in 2017. According to the report, INRS action on manufactured nanomaterials has three objectives: (1) making knowledge on hazards available to the working world; (2)...

According to a July 12, 2017, press release, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) wrote to the French Prime Minister and several ministers to call for labeling and restriction of nanomaterials in consumer products.

On April 26, 2017, France’s National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) published a press release announcing the availability of an English summary of a foresight study conducted in 2014 on the development of nanomaterials by 2030 and the consequences on safety and health in small businesses in France.

In November 2016, the Ministry of the Environment, Energy, and the Sea released its 2016 report, in French, Éléments issus des déclarations des substances à l’état nanoparticulaire. The report analyzes nanomaterial declarations received in 2016 for reporting year 2015.

The fifth Nanosafe conference was held November 7-10, 2016, in Grenoble, France. The conference included panel discussions on responsible development with non-governmental organizations; urban particles mitigation: what is reasonably possible; and nanomedicine: benefit-risk.

The Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and the Sea has posted a report, available only in French, entitled Éléments issus des déclarations des substances à l’état nanoparticulaire: Rapport d’etude 2015.

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published on March 10, 2015, an Opinion concerning exposure to silver nanoparticles that “stresses the research that has been carried out to examine the potential health and environmental effects of silver nanoparticles but notes that this is still insufficient to allow the health risks to be assessed.”

The Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy published a report, available only in French, concerning the second round of mandatory reporting of nanomaterials. Under Decree No. 2012-232, companies that manufacture, import, and/or distribute a “substance with nanoparticle status” in an amount of at least 100 grams per year must submit an annual report with substance identity,...

The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published on May 15, 2014, a review of the available literature on health and environmental issues relating to manufactured nanomaterials. According to ANSES, the review “will help clarify scientific understanding and demonstrate the toxic effects of some nanomaterials on living organisms and the environment.”...