Fall 2016 amendments to the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations

Amendments to the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 were published on October 5th, 2016. New requirements come into force starting December 23rd, 2016.

The Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 (the Prohibition Regulations) prevent potential risks of harm to the Canadian environment and, where applicable, human health by prohibiting the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of toxic substances and products containing them, with a limited number of exemptions.

What’s new

Five substances have been added to the regulations

The amendments prohibit certain activities respecting the following substances and products that contain them:

1. Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). The amendments add HBCD to Parts 1 and 3 of Schedule 1 of the Prohibition Regulations, thereby prohibiting the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of HBCD, expanded (EPS) and extruded (XPS) foams and their intermediary products that contain HBCD for building or construction applications.
2. Perfluorooctanoic acid, its salts and its precursors (collectively referred to as PFOA). The amendments add PFOA to Parts 1.1 and 2 of Schedule 2 of the Prohibition Regulations, thereby prohibiting the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, or import of PFOA and products containing them with a limited number of exemptions, including manufactured items.
3. Long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids, their salts and their precursors (collectively referred to as LC-PFCAs). The amendments add LC-PFCAs to Parts 1.1 and 2 of Schedule 2 of the Prohibition Regulations, thereby prohibiting the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, or import of LC-PFCAs and products containing them with a limited number of exemptions, including manufactured items.
4. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs). The amendments repeal and incorporate the Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers Regulations, and add additional requirements by adding PBDEs to Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Prohibition Regulations. This prohibits the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, and import of PBDEs, including decaBDE, and all products that contain PBDEs except for manufactured items.
5. Perfluorooctane sulfonate, its salts and its precursors (collectively referred to as PFOS). The amendments repeal and incorporate the Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and its Salts and Certain Other Compounds Regulations by adding PFOS to Parts 1, 1.1. and 3.1 of Schedule 2 of the Prohibition Regulations, with three changes:
   1. the exemption for the use, sale, offer for sale, or import of aviation hydraulic fluids containing PFOS is removed
   2. the exemption for aqueous film-forming foams containing PFOS used in a military vessel deployed before May 2013 for a military operation is removed
   3. the permitted concentration limit for the use of PFOS in aqueous film-forming foams is increased from 0.5 ppm to 10 ppm

The amendments also include the following general changes

• accredited laboratory provisions are updated to include laboratories that are accredited under Quebec’s Environment Quality Act
• record-keeping provisions now require regulatees to notify the Minister if records are moved
• the permit application process is simplified
• the clarity and consistency of the regulatory text is improved

More information on the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012K/cite> and the new requirements for the five substances added in 2016 can be found on the CEPA Registry, or by contacting:

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Chemicals Management Division
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard 10th floor
Gatineau QC  K1A 0H3
Email: ec.interdiction-prohibition.ec@canada.ca