At the request of the European Parliament, the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) has prepared a report assessing the challenges of creating a science-based definition of “nanomaterials” for regulatory purposes. The JRC recommends that the definition apply only to “particulate nanomaterials” and that size, not properties, be the defining property. For the definition, a size range of 1–100 nm or higher is recommended, taking into account size distribution and nonuniformity of samples. However, qualifiers may be required for specific legislation. The measurement of particle size values are currently method dependent.

Source: JRC