The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on February 5, 2024, that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published two new ex-ante publicity notices for two service contracts:

• “Survey on state of the art of carbon-based nanomaterial detection and quantification in environmental and biological matrices”: ECHA expects to launch a call for tender to initiate an EUON systematic survey on the current state of the art for carbon-based nanomaterial detection and quantification in environmental and biological matrices. The study should investigate the scope and performance characteristics of existing methods and their method validation status and provide an overview of the use of their results in regulatory settings to date. The outcomes of this study will be useful as a starting point for identification and further development of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other harmonized test methods. Expressions of interest are due February 7, 2024.

• “Information on nano-enabled textiles”: Currently, the available scientific information on nanotech textiles is scattered, leading to uncertainty about their potential risks and safety, especially when considering the entire life cycle of the treated products. The use of nanosilver, titanium dioxide, and carbon-based nanomaterials in face masks, largely marketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the need to understand better the extent of nano-enabled textiles placed on the EU market and their potential human and environmental health benefits and risks, in ways that could potentially be used to enhance or better enforce the existing regulation that underlies their commercialization. The scope of the study would thus be to collect, organize, and analyze data on current research, production, applications, and the corresponding benefits and risks of nano-enabled textiles in the EU; and to elaborate recommendations on ways to improve information and, where necessary, protection of EU consumers, workers, and the environment regarding current uses and applications of nanomaterials in textile products on the EU market. Expressions of interest are due February 16, 2024.

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