Risk management action milestones for bisphenol A
Bisphenol A (commonly known as BPA) has met the criteria of sections 64 (a) and (c) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). The table below compiles the proposed risk management actions for both health and the environment and provides the current status and any updated information for these proposed actions. For the complete wording of these actions, please refer to the Proposed Risk Management Approach for Bisphenol A.
| Authority | Risk Management Actions | Most Recent Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (replaced Part I and Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act) | Prohibit the manufacture, importation, sale or advertising of polycarbonate baby bottles that contain BPA. | An order amending Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (bisphenol A) (SOR/2010-53) was published in Canada Gazette Part II in March 2010. |
| Food and Drugs Act (cosmetics) | Addition as a prohibition to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. | The Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist has been amended in June 2010. |
| Food and Drugs Act (medical device regulations) | Survey all currently licensed Class II, III and IV medical devices that contain BPA that come into contact with the patient or the patient fluids. | Survey on-going and database maintained on all currently licensed Class II, III and IV medical devices that contain BPA. |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Evaluation of pre-market submissions for infant formula to ensure the lowest achievable levels of BPA in the food packaging for these products. | In effect as of October 2008. |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Facilitate the assessment of proposed industry alternatives to BPA used in can linings, including infant formula can coatings. | In effect as of October 2008. |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Develop stringent migration targets for BPA in infant formula cans. | Multiple consultations with industry were held and, by December 2014, Health Canada had confirmed that industry had either abandoned or phased out the use of BPA-containing packaging for liquid infant formula. Previous surveys had demonstrated that BPA was not detectable in canned powdered infant formula products available for sale in Canada. Therefore, this risk management action is no longer necessary. For more information, read Bisphenol A: update on the Food Directorate's risk management commitments for infant formula. |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Support industry in the development and implementation of codes of practice to reduce the levels of BPA in infant formula can linings to as low as reasonably achievable. | Multiple consultations with industry were on-going between 2008 and 2014, leading up to the phase out of the use of BPA in can linings of liquid infant formula. For more information, read Bisphenol A: update on the Food Directorate's risk management commitments for infant formula |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Exploration of establishing migration targets for BPA in canned foods. | |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Add BPA to the list of chemicals monitored as part of the Canadian Total Diet Study (TDS). | Results from 2009 to 2012 are available upon request |
| Food and Drugs Act (foods) | Gather additional data to fill information gaps by testing a variety of foods for BPA presence, including liquid and powdered infant formulas, as well as foods for infants and children aged 1-4 years. | Health Canada conducted surveys to measure concentrations of BPA in canned and bottled foods included infant formulas and in 2012 published an "Updated Assessment of Bisphenol A (BPA) Exposure from Food Sources" which concluded that dietary exposures were lower than previously estimated. Current dietary exposures to BPA are not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and young children. |
| CEPA 1999 | Further information on human exposure will be collected through research projects, including the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) Study and the P4 study: Plastics and Personal care Product use in Pregnancy. | Results published |
| CEPA 1999 | The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) measures BPA concentrations in Canadians. | Results reported starting in 2010 |
| CEPA 1999 | Regulatory approach to minimize risks from releases of BPA into the environment. | A pollution prevention (P2) planning notice was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on April 14, 2012. An Environmental Performance Agreement Respecting Bisphenol A in Paper Recycling Mill Effluents commenced March 3, 2013. |
| CEPA 1999 | Continuation of reporting releases of BPA through the National Pollutant Release Inventory. | Ongoing. Data is released on the National Pollutant Release Inventory . |
| CEPA 1999 | Environmental monitoring of BPA. | Initiated in 2008 and is ongoing. |
| CEPA 1999 | BPA will be included in future information gathering initiatives. | Ongoing. |
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