Substance prohibition summary for Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)

Disclaimer

This information has been prepared for convenience of reference only and is not to be understood as a legal document. This information does not supersede or modify any act, regulations or legal obligation, including an obligation to comply under any instruments referred to under CEPA.

Context

Hexabromocyclododecane, which has the molecular formula C₁₂H₁₈Br₆ (HBCD), and products containing HBCD are subject to the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 (PCTSR 2012). The PCTSR 2012 will be repealed and replaced by the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 (PCTSR 2025) when the PCTSR 2025 comes into force on June 30, 2026. These Regulations are made under the authority of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).

Prohibition and exemptions under PCTSR 2012

The PCTSR 2012 will be in force until June 30, 2026. The PCTSR 2012 prohibits the import, manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of HBCD, and expanded and extruded polystyrene (EPS and XPS) foam and their intermediary products containing HBCD for building or construction applications, with the following exemptions:

the import, manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of an EPS or XPS foam product containing HBCD, if HBCD is incidentally present
the import, manufacture, use, sale and offer for sale of products that contain HBCD, other than EPS or XPS foams and their intermediary products for a building or construction application
the use, sale or offer for sale of:
- HBCD that was manufactured or imported before January 1, 2017
- EPS and XPS foams and their intermediary products that contain HBCD, for a building or construction application, if manufactured or imported before January 1, 2017

Prohibition and exemptions (authorized activities) under PCTSR 2025

The PCTSR 2025 further restricts HBCD activities in Canada. Once the PCTSR 2025 comes into force on June 30, 2026, the following changes to authorized activities will be in effect:

prohibit the manufacture, use, sale and import of all products containing HBCD, but exempt:
- the use, sale and import of land-based motor vehicle replacement parts containing HBCD until December 31, 2031; and the ongoing use and sale of the land-based motor vehicles containing the replacement parts
- the use and sale of products containing HBCD that were in use or in inventory up to the coming into force of the PCTSR 2025 (June 29, 2026, inclusively)
the exemption for the use and sale of EPS and XPS foams and their intermediary products that contain HBCD, for a building or construction application, if manufactured or imported before January 1, 2017 will be retained
the exemption allowing the use, sale and offer for sale of HBCD that was manufactured or imported before January 1, 2017, will be repealed
a concentration threshold of 100mg/kg (0.01% w/w) for incidental presence of HBCD in a product will be added

Further detail on the authorized activities for HBCD may be found under Schedule 1 of the PCTSR 2025.

Permits

There are currently no permits available under the PCTSR 2012. Please note that once the PCTSR 2025 comes into force on June 30, 2026, permits will be available for certain substances and certain activities.

The PCTSR 2025 allows for permits to be issued for one year and renewed twice (for a total maximum of up to three years) to temporarily allow the continuation of eligible activities for certain products. The following activities and products containing HBCD are eligible for permit application:

the manufacture or import of land-based motor vehicles that contain replacement parts containing HBCD
the manufacture or import of all products other than those mentioned above or those already authorized under Schedule 1 of the 2025 Regulations

How to submit a permit application through the Regulatory Services Platform

Permit applications must be submitted within 30 days of the day on which these Regulations come into force on June 30, 2026.

Permit applications must be submitted during the permit application period between July 1, 2026, and July 30, 2026 (30 days after the day the PCTSR 2025 come into force) using ECCC's Regulatory Services Platform.

On the platform, users will be able to:

Create an account
Submit permit applications

More information relating to permits can be found on the Information for permit applications or renewal for the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025 webpage.

Exempted laboratory uses

The prohibitions under the PCTSR 2012 and PCTSR 2025 do not apply to listed toxic substances, or to any products containing them, that are to be used in a laboratory for analysis, in scientific research or as a laboratory analytical standard.

A report must be submitted for every calendar year for the use or anticipated use of toxic substances.

How to submit a laboratory and research use report

Users of any listed toxic substance, or product containing it, for the above purposes are required to report the information set out in the Regulations using ECCC's Regulatory Services Platform before the use of more than 10 grams of each substance each calendar year.

Further details relating to exempted laboratory uses and instructions on how to report can be found on the Information for laboratories using certain toxic substances webpage.

More information

More information can be found on the CEPA registry webpage for the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2025.

Inquiries on the Regulations can be made by emailing interdiction-prohibition@ec.gc.ca or by phoning the Substances Management Information Line at:

1-800-567-1999 (Toll free in Canada)
1-819-938-3232 (Outside of Canada)

Definitions

Incidental presence

Incidental presence is generally understood to be a residual, a trace contaminant or impurity that was not intentionally added to the formulation

Page details

2025-12-31

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