Existing Substances
Health Canada is responsible for the assessment of potential risks
to human health posed by existing substances in Canada under the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). The Existing
Substances Division (ExSD) conducts this work within Health Canada.
ExSD works jointly with Environment Canada, the department responsible
for assessing the risks of existing substances to the environment.
Existing substances include those on the Domestic Substances List
(DSL). The DSL is a compilation of about 23 000 substances used,
imported or manufactured in Canada for commercial purposes between January 1, 1984, and December
31, 1986, at a quantity of greater than 100 kg per year; substances
that are not listed on the DSL are considered to be new to Canada.
CEPA 1999 provides the framework for the identification, prioritization
and assessment of existing substances and for the control or management
of those considered to pose a risk. This framework is broad, open,
transparent and evidence-based, taking into account aspects (i.e.,
exposure and effects) of a substance related to the potential risk
it may pose, and it builds upon work done in other jurisdictions.
The three principal phases of identification and assessment of
priorities for risk management of existing substances specified
under CEPA 1999 are categorization, screening assessment and in-depth
Priority Substances List (PSL) assessment. One objective of the
latter two phases, namely screening and full assessment, is to
determine whether a substance is CEPA-toxic as defined in Section
64 of the Act, which may then set the stage for addition of the
substance to Schedule 1 (the List of Toxic Substances) of the Act
and for reviewing options for controlling risks to human health
and/or the environment.
Information available
In this section, you will find information regarding:
- Categorization of the Domestic Substances List;
- Screening Health Assessment of Existing Substances;
- Health risk assessment of Priority Substances;
- Information
on how to join our mailing list to keep you updated on any
new activities and publications
Documents
To view all of the ExSD documents, please see our Reports and Publications page located at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/existsub/index_e.html
|