Nineteen Substances on the Domestic Substances List Associated with Pesticidal Uses

Final Screening Assessment

Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Numbers

Environnement and Climate Change Canada
Health Canada

October 2016

(PDF Format - 614 KB)

Table of Contents

• Synopsis
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Approach
  • 2.1 Scope of assessment
  • 2.2 Search strategy to identify potential non-pesticidal uses in Canada
• 3. Screening Assessment Results
• 4. Conclusion
• References
• Appendix A: Substances identified as not meeting the criteria under section 64 of CEPA

Synopsis

As part of the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan (CMP), the Ministers of the Environment and Climate Change and Health have conducted a screening assessment of 19 substances that were prioritized for assessment following categorization of the Domestic Substances List (DSL).These 19 substances are registered as active ingredients in pest control products under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) and have undergone an environmental and human health risk assessment for the purposes of the PCPA by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, as part of the product registration process.

Based on information collected in response to Notices under section 71 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), including Phase One and Phase Two of DSL Inventory Update, in addition to evaluation of other available information on substance uses, it was determined that 19 substances have uses that are limited to pesticide applications which have been assessed under the PCPA. Given that no other uses of these 19 substances have been identified, the likelihood of exposure to these substances in Canada and potential for harm to humans or the environment resulting from non-pesticidal applications is low.

Based on available information, it is concluded that the 19 substances identified in Appendix A do not meet any of the criteria under section 64 of CEPA  as they are not entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity, that constitute or may constitute a danger to the environment on which life depends, or that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health.

Although a risk to the environment or human health has not been identified, the substances in this assessment are recognized to have properties of potential concern. There may be a concern for the environment or to human health if exposures to these substances were to increase due to uses beyond those regulated under the PCPA.

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1. Introduction

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999(CEPA) (Canada 1999) requires the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Health to conduct screening assessments of substances that have met the categorization criteria set out in the Act to determine whether these substances present or may present a risk to the environment or human health^Footnote1.

Under CEPA, screening assessments focus on information critical to determining whether a substance meets the criteria for identifying a chemical as toxic as set out in section 64 of the Act, where:

"64. [...] a substance is toxic if it is entering or may enter the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that

1. have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity;
2. constitute or may constitute a danger to the environment on which life depends; or
3. constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health."

The Ministers of the Environment and Climate Change and Health have conducted a screening assessment of 19 substances that were prioritized for assessment following categorization of the DSL, which were known to be used as active ingredients in pesticidal applications. This assessment utilized information collected from both Phase One and Phase Two of the DSL Inventory Update (Canada 2009, Canada 2011) and a survey conducted in 2006 (Canada 2006) under section 71 of CEPA.

The 19 substances are registered as active ingredients in pest control products under the PCPA and have undergone an environmental and human health risk assessment by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), according to their intended use and label, as part of their registration process (PMRA 2014). As such, and as defined in subsection 2(2) of the PCPA, there is reasonable certainty that no harm to human health, future generations or the environment will result from exposure to or use of the pest control product, taking into account its conditions or proposed conditions of registration under the PCPA.

This screening assessment focuses on verifying whether there may be any non-pesticidal uses or releases of these substances, in order to determine whether the substances meet the criteria under section 64 of CEPA and whether further risk assessment or risk management is required under CEPA.

The following summarizes the critical information used to identify uses, or potential uses, in Canada, to determine if the use of a substance is limited to pesticide-only applications.

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2. Approach

2.1 Scope of assessment

Nineteen substances were identified that were both registered under the PCPA as active ingredients and were also prioritized for assessment following categorization of the DSL. A search strategy was then implemented to determine whether any of the substances had uses outside of those regulated under the PCPA.

2.2 Search strategy to identify potential non-pesticidal uses in Canada

To efficiently search for information on potential non-pesticidal uses for the substances in both a transparent and consistent manner, a variety of sources were consulted as part of the search strategy developed for this screening assessment. This included examining the results from three mandatory surveys conducted under section 71 of CEPA : Phase One and Phase Two of the DSL Inventory Update, and a survey conducted in 2006 (Canada 2006, Canada 2009, Canada 2011). Other sources of information on substance uses were also reviewed. These sources ranged from specific (e.g. Health Canada's Lists of Permitted Food Additives; notifications submitted under the Cosmetic Regulations to Health Canada) to broad-based searches for each substance (e.g. Hazardous Substances Data Bank, Material Safety Data Sheets). A number of domestic, international and general sources of information were identified and systematically searched, including the following sources:

Domestic Sources

• Information from mandatory CEPA section 71 survey collected under  Phase Two of the DSL Inventory Update (Canada 2011);
• Information from mandatory CEPA section 71 survey collected under Phase One of the DSL Inventory Update (Canada 2009);
• Information from a mandatory CEPA section 71 survey collected under Notice with respect to selected substances identified as priority for action (Canada 2006);
• PMRA databases/sources:
  • Product Information Database (PMRA 2014);
  • List of Formulants (PMRA 2010); and
  • Proposed Registration Decisions (PRD)/Re-evaluation decisions;
• Notifications submitted under the Cosmetic Regulations to Health Canada;
• Health Canada's Lists of Permitted Food Additives (2013);
• Health Canada drug and health product databases:
  • Natural Health Products Ingredients Database (NHPID 2014);
  • Licensed Natural Health Products Database (LNHPD 2014); and
  • Drug Product Database (DPD 2014).

International/General Sources

• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) databases/sources:
  • Pesticide Reregistration reviews and decision documents (RED/IREDs);
  • Inerts eligible for FIFRA food/non-food use;
  • Inerts (Classification list) and Inerts, once Actives lists; and
  • US High Production volume (HPV) database;
• US EPA Chemical and Product Categories Database (CPCat 2014);
• Everything Added to Food in the United States Database (EAFUS 2011);
• Inventory of indirect additives used in food contact substances (FDA 2011);
• European Commission's Food Additive database (EU 2014a);
• European Commission's Food Flavourings database (EU 2014b);
• European Commission's Cosmetic Ingredient database (COSING 2014);
• Household Products Database (HPD 2014);
• Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB c1993-2008);
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)- various internet sources;
• INCHEM Pesticide classification; and
• Compendium of Common Pesticide Names

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3. Screening Assessment Results

None of the nineteen substances had reported uses that were outside of those regulated under the PCPA according to section 71 surveys conducted under CEPA , according to reporting thresholds. The reporting thresholds for the 2006 survey and Phase One and Phase Two of the DSL Inventory Update were 100 kg (Canada 2006, Canada 2009, Canada 2011).

Following further evaluation of potential non-pesticidal uses of these substances through other information sources, For the 19 substances in this assessment, non-pesticidal products and/or applications of the products were not found in Canada. These 19 substances were identified as only having uses as active ingredients in pesticide product(s) registered under the PCPA.  Therefore, the likelihood of exposure to these 19 substances in Canada, and potential for harm to humans or the environment due to non-pesticidal applications, is low.

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4. Conclusion

Based on available information, it is concluded that the 19 substances listed in Appendix A do not meet any of the criteria under section 64 of CEPA as they are not entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity, that constitute or may constitute a danger to the environment on which life depends, or that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health.

Although a risk to the environment or human health has not been identified, the substances in this assessment are recognized to have properties of potential concern. There may be a concern for the environment or to human health if exposures to these substances were to increase due to uses beyond those regulated under the PCPA.

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References

Canada. 1999. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. S.C., 1999, c. 33.

Canada. 2006. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999: Notice with respect to selected substances identified as priority for action. Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 140, No. 9.

Canada. 2009. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999: Notice with respect to certain inanimate substances (chemicals) on the Domestic Substances List. Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 143, No. 40, 3 October, 2009.

Canada. 2012. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999: Notice with respect to certain inanimate substances (chemicals) on the Domestic Substances List. Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 146, No. 48, 1 December, 2012.

COSING. 2014. European Cosmetic ingredient inventory [database on the internet]. European Commission Cosmetics Directive. [March 2014].

[CPCat] Chemical and Product Categories [database on the inventory]. 2014..U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [May 2014].

[DPD] Drug Products Database [database on the Internet]. 2014. Ottawa (ON): Therapeutic Products Directorate, Health Canada. [February 2014].

[EAFUS] Everything Added to Food in the United States [Internet]. 2013. U.S. Food and Drug Administration; [cited 2014 February].

[EPA 1986] United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1987. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) The Risk Assessment Guidelines of 1986. EPA/600/8-87/045, Sep 1987. Office of Health and Environmental Assessment. Washington, D.C.

FDA 2011. List of Indirect Additives Used in Food Contact Substances. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Last updated 11/14/2011

[HPD]. Household Products Database [database on the internet]. 2010. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; [cited 2011 December].

[HSDB] Hazardous Substances Data Bank [database on the internet]. c1993-2008. United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health; [cited 2012 December].

[IARC] International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. 1991. Occupational Exposures in Insecticide Application, and Some Pesticides. IARC Monogr Eval Carcinog Risks Hum 53.

[IARC] International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. 2010. Some Non-heterocyclic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Some Related Exposures. IARC Monogr Eval Carcinog Risks Hum 92.

[LNHPD] Licensed Natural Health Products Database [database on the internet]. 2014. Health Canada, Government of Canada; [Accessed January-February 2014].

[NHPID] Natural Health Products Ingredients Database [database on the internet]. 2014. Health Canada, Government of Canada; [Accessed January-February 2014].

[PMRA]. Pest Management Regulatory Agency Product Information Search [database on the internet]. 2014. Health Canada, Government of Canada; [cited 2014 January].

[PMRA]. Pest Management Regulatory Agency. 2010. List of Formulants. HC Pub #: 100460. Health Canada, Government of Canada; [verified with PMRA January 2014].

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Appendix A: Substances identified as not meeting the criteria under section 64 of CEPA

^a Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number