Toxic Substances
- What are Toxic Substances?
- What pollutants listed on the NPRI are considered to be toxic substances?
- How do toxic substances affect the environment?
- How do toxic substances affect human health?
- Where can I find out more about releases of toxic substances in my area?
What are Toxic Substances?
The term "toxic substance" has a specific meaning under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). It sets out the criteria under which a substance may be considered to be toxic for the purpose of the Act. To paraphrase, "a substance may be found to be toxic if it enters, or may enter, the environment in amounts that may pose a risk to human health, the environment (such as fish or wildlife) or the environment upon which life depends (such as water, soil and air).
Environment Canada and Health Canada continue to assess new and existing substances to determine whether they are toxic under CEPA 1999.
What pollutants listed on the NPRI are considered to be toxic substances?
Of the 303 substances reportable to the NPRI in 2005, more than 120 of them were either on the List of Toxic Substances (Schedule 1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) or are considered by Environment Canada and Health Canada to have met the criteria for a toxic substance under CEPA 1999. These substances are listed either individually or belong to a group of substances that are considered to have met the criteria for a toxic substance. Click here to see the list of toxic substances reportable to the NPRI in 2005.
How do toxic substances affect the environment?
Toxic substances can pose risks to the environment (e.g. fish and wildlife) or to the environment upon which life depends (air, water and soil).
How do toxic substances affect human health?
Exposure to toxic substance can pose a risk to human health under certain conditions. For example, lead is a toxic substance. Exposure to even small amounts of lead can be hazardous to human health, especially for infants, young children and pregnant women. It is important to remember that the environmental and health risks and impacts of a substance are influenced by a number of factors, such as the extent to which humans and the environment are exposed, the physical and chemical properties of the substance and whether it is released to air, water or land.
Where can I find out more about releases of toxic substances in my area?
The NPRI can be a major starting point for information about pollution in your community. Use the NPRI search engine to find out more about the release, disposal and recycling of toxic substances by facilities that reported to the NPRI:
- Enter your postal code or select your community name;
- From the list of pollutants/substances, select the one of interest OR from the list of environmental and health issues, select "toxic pollutants";
- Click on the "Search" button to get your search results.
Note: The toxic substances listed on the NPRI Communities Portal search engine include those substances that were listed on the 2005 NPRI and were considered to be toxic as of December 2005.
