Overview of Existing Substances Program
at Environment Canada

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) is one of the primary tools used to prevent and reduce threats posed to Canadians and the Canadian environment by substances used or released by our society. CEPA 1999 provides for the assessment and management of substances that can enter into the Canadian environment. It ensures the protection of the environment and the health of Canadians from exposure to "toxic" substances. Under Section 64 of CEPA, a substance is defined as “toxic” if it enters or may enter the environment in amounts or under conditions that may pose a risk to human health, the environment or its biological diversity, or to the environment that supports life. Risk managers within Environment Canada and Health Canada use the results generated by risk assessments to develop suitable responses under CEPA 1999 to manage the risks posed by toxic substances.

Environment Canada and Health Canada, through the Existing Substances Program, jointly identify, prioritize, and assess the risks resulting from existing substances. An existing substance is one that has been or is currently used in Canada as a commercial substance or product, or is released into the Canadian environment on its own or as an effluent, mixture or a contaminant.

The Existing Substances Division (ESD) at Environment Canada performs the following activities to establish whether or not specific substances may threaten human health or the environment and should be considered for risk management:

• Identifies substances for risk assessment -- Candidates are identified through seven mechanisms (feeders): 1) categorization of the Domestic Substances List (DSL), 2) industry-supplied information, 3) provincial or international decisions prohibiting or restricting substances, CEPA 1999), 4) public nominations to the Priority Substances List, 5) assessment of “new” substances similar to existing substances (for more information, please refer to the website of New Substances Division at Environment Canada at http://www.ec.gc.ca/substances/nsb/eng/neo_e.htm), 6) emerging science and monitoring, and 7) international assessment or data collection.



• Collects and manages data -- To support the identification of substances justifying risk assessment and risk management activities, ESD generates and collects scientific and technical information on the properties and amounts, concentrations, or nature of entry of any given substance in the Canadian environment, and monitors activities taking place elsewhere. Information or activities from the public domain, other federal departments, provinces and territories, other countries, industry, and science research programs is compiled, organized, and tracked.



• Sets priorities for assessments -- Once candidate substances have been identified, ESD focuses its resources on those most urgently needing assessment. This ensures an effective and efficient assessment process, and provides the risk management program with the means to effectively manage priorities.



• Conducts risk assessments -- When substances have been identified and priorities established, ESD reviews information and proposes decisions on substances in the Canadian environment. This involves problem formulation, entry assessment, exposure assessment, effects assessment, and risk characterization. ESD invites external scientific and technical experts from various groups to participate in the risk assessment process.



• Coordinates and integrates information -- ESD consults, liaises, and coordinates with provincial, territorial, and aboriginal governments, other federal departments and programs, stakeholders, international organizations, and other countries.



• Ensures communications -- ESD is committed to a well-understood, open and accountable process. This ensures that concerns of all Canadians are heard and ESD is abreast of emerging issues to make its endeavours and decisions intelligible to the public.

For more information on the Existing Substances Program in Health Canada, please refer to their website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/contaminants/existsub/index_e.html.

Through these various tools, Environment Canada and Health Canada are able to provide a scientifically rigorous, open and transparent process for assessing and communicating the potential risks posed by existing substances in Canada.