Commercial Chemicals Under Evaluation

There are more than 23,000 chemicals in commercial use in Canada-from paint ingredients to pesticides-and each year, more than 900 new substances try to join this list. To ensure that none pose a risk to human or environmental health, scientists are conducting a preliminary review that, by 2006, will make Canada the only country in the world to have examined every chemical in domestic use.

The reviews, which are required under the Canadian Environmental Protection, 1999 (CEPA 1999), are an important component of the new federal pollution prevention strategy and are conducted jointly by experts at Environment Canada and Health Canada. Chemicals are evaluated by examining their properties to determine if they are persistent or bioaccumulative and inherently toxic to humans or other organisms. Depending on the outcome of the review, further assessment may be carried out to determine if the chemical in question poses a risk to humans or the environment. If this is the case, appropriate risk management measures are developed.

CEPA's New Substances Notification Regulations came into effect for chemicals and polymers in 1994, and for biotechnology products in 1997. The Regulations require that the importers or manufacturers of all substances new to Canadian commerce, including living organisms, submit detailed information on the uses and effects of these substances for verification and assessment. The chemicals are assessed not only based on specified volumes and uses, but also taking into consideration changes in use patterns in the future. Since 1994, more than 10 000 new substances notifications have been received in Canada-three times the number originally expected. In 1999, over 1300 notifications were received, and that number is expected to rise with each coming year thanks to ever-increasing advances in technology, research and development.

Canada's program to assess new substances is not unique: the United States, Australia and other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are all involved in similar efforts. What is unique is that Canada is the only nation in the world that also requires the chemicals on its original Domestic Substances List (DSL) - which were in commerce between 1984 and 1986 and whose entry into the environment was then unrestricted-to undergo a review.

Since the chemicals on the original list were used without restriction, little information exists on their potential effects. As a result, Environment Canada and Health Canada base their evaluations on a combination of public and in-house data, surrogate information on similar substances, and expert prediction models. By the time the categorizations are completed in 2006, it is estimated that 1000-3000 of the 23 000 chemicals on the original DSL will have been identified as candidates for risk assessment.

Substances that fall into this category will then undergo further screening to determine whether they pose a risk to the environment or human health and, if so, to recommend ways to manage them under CEPA. A variety of methods, including regulations, voluntary actions and economic instruments may be used. Risk assessments will be published in the Canada Gazette for public comment before a Ministerial decision is made. Toxic chemicals of particular concern will be added to CEPA's List of Toxic Substances, and those that are persistent and bioaccumulative will be recommended for phase-out or virtual elimination.

This summer, a multi-stakeholder group made up of experts from industry and from public advocacy and environmental groups was struck to evaluate the effectiveness of the New Substances Notification Regulations and to suggest ways to improve them. The group will make its recommendations to Environment Canada by the end of January 2001.

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