ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the roles that physicochemical (p-chem) properties play in the regulation of nanomaterials as industrial chemicals. While the focus is on nanomaterials' regulation in the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), also discussed are the EPA's international collaborations on the regulatory implications of nanomaterial p-chem properties. The EPA regulates nanomaterials as industrial chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) [1]. Within TSCA, there are important distinctions between existing chemicals already on the TSCA chemical inventory and new chemicals that are not on the inventory. The chapter highlights a number of unresolved issues around the identification, measurement, and application of nanomaterial properties for regulatory science and evaluation and presents recommendations for addressing these issues. In addition to many of the p-chem parameters, two additional parameters that are relevant for fate and exposure are dispersion stability and dustiness.
