ECHA launches EU nanomaterials observatory

ECHA has launched the EU nanomaterials observatory (EUON), which is a website intended to provide information on nanomaterials in the EU market to the public. 

ECHA debated whether or not to create the EUON or a nano register in 2016. More details on the decision to create the EUON and not the nano register, are in our previous post, "European Commission Plans Nanomaterial Observatory". 

The EUON is being developed in three phases. The first phase is now available for public access, and includes existing data on nanomaterials in the EU market, including information regarding where they are used, their potential health and safety issues, and how they are regulated in the EU.  

The second and third phases will be released in 2018 and 2019, respectively. For these stages, ECHA plans to collate data from numerous sources. The search capabilities of the website will also be improved. ECHA is launching two studies that will contribute to this next phase of work. 

EUON will continuously scan other sources, such as European research data and consumer choice studies, in order to keep the database updated.