Consultation document on Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane(D4): chapter 1

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Scope of the Consultation

The substance Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, Chemical Abstract Service Registry Number (CAS RN) 556-67-2, referred to throughout this document as “D4”, was included in Batch2 of the Challenge initiative under the Chemicals Management Plan.

The final screening assessment report concluded that D4 is entering or may be entering the environment in a quantity or a concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity, but is not entering the environment in a quantity or a concentration or under conditions that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health.  Therefore, it was concluded that D4 met the criteria in paragraph 64 (a) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). The Proposed Order to add D4 to Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999 was published on May 16, 2009.

The proposed environmental objective for D4 is to prevent or minimize releases of D4 to the aquatic environment (EC & HC 2009).  In order to achieve the lowest level of release of D4 to water that is technically and economically feasible, the Government of Canada is considering:

• Limiting the quantity or concentration of D4 that may be contained in certain categories of personal care products with the potential to result in releases to water, and
• Establishing a maximum D4 concentration in final industrial effluent and requiring the implementation of a substance management plan to ensure that best practices are adopted at facilities where D4 is used.

The consultation paper aims to:

• Inform interested stakeholders of the proposed risk management instruments for D4;
• Give interested and affected parties an opportunity to provide input into the risk management measures for certain personal care products and industrial effluents; and
• Allow Environment Canada to consider any questions or concerns from interested stakeholders on the proposed risk management instruments.

Interested stakeholders may include non-government organizations, provincial, territorial and federal government departments, and various companies.

More specifically, for the proposed measures on products, stakeholders include manufacturers, importers and retailers in the cosmetic and toiletry industry.

For the proposed measure on industrial effluents, stakeholders include manufacturers and formulators of soap and cleaning compounds, cosmetic and toiletry, pharmaceutical and medicine products, paints, coatings and adhesives, plastic and rubber products, and chemical manufacturers and distributers.

1.2 Objectives

The main objective of this consultation is to invite stakeholders to provide their comments and feedback on the proposed risk management instruments for D4.  

The specific objectives are to:  

• Develop a common understanding among stakeholders of the issue;
• Solicit comments on the proposed maximum concentration limits in certain personal care products and in industrial effluents;
• Solicit comments on sampling and testing methodologies (e.g. detection limits and accuracy) to evaluate and monitor D4 in industrial effluents;
• Discuss proposed administrative requirements, such as reporting and record keeping;
• Solicit comments on the proposed requirement to develop a Substance Management Plan;
• Discuss feasibility and timelines for the implementation of the proposed regulatory requirements;
• Identify systems to control, mitigate or eliminate the release of D4 to water (e.g. control and capture technologies, chemical alternatives, better handling practices, closed loop system, etc.); and
• Obtain further information with respect to the economics associated with the proposed risk management instruments.