By Chris Paul
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been
reviewing a proposed data collection rule that would require manufacturers
of nanoscale chemicals to provide the Environmental Protection Agency
with information on production volume and manufacturing methods,
along with available health and safety data. However, a scientist with
the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said that the EPA cannot get
the information it needs to make decisions about nanoscale pesticides
and chemicals because the OMB is not approving proposals that would
allow EPA to gather the data. The EDF claims that manufacturers and
certain users of nanoscale chemicals have caused the delay of the data
gathering efforts because they do not want the use of nanotechnologies to
be stigmatized. EDF also has alleged that some federal agencies supported
the delay. Some claims have been made that nanoscale ingredients
in pesticides may pose health or environmental hazards due to their
microscopic size and certain other properties.