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Identification and selection of priorities for assessment under CEPA

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Approach for the identification of priorities for assessment under CEPA

The Government of Canada recognizes that new tools and information continue to be generated that could help inform the identification of additional substances of potential concern for human health or the environment. These substances may then be prioritized for assessment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). Therefore, a regular review of available information for the purposes of prioritization is undertaken by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC). Results are used to inform the selection of assessment priorities proposed for CEPA's Plan of Priorities. The Plan of Priorities sets out an approach describing planned activities for addressing substances in Canada over the next several years.

The overall approach for prioritization is outlined in the Approach for the identification of chemicals and polymers as risk assessment priorities under Part 5 of CEPA and an updated summary is provided in a fact sheet on identifying risk assessment priorities under CEPA. This cyclical and flexible approach involves a systematic compilation and review of information from a large number of information sources that allows for the consideration of new data and methods as they become available. It enables the Government of Canada to communicate how emerging issues are tracked, and to identify and prioritize substances requiring further work. Stakeholders are consulted on initiatives that derive from the collection and analysis of data under this approach, including consultation on the Plan of Priorities.

For the purposes of selecting priorities for the Plan of Priorities, ECCC and HC primarily focus on identifying new information that would constitute indicators of hazard and/or exposure for the following types of substances:

Substances that are identified through multiple drivers may be identified as a higher priority for assessment. Where data is available to show that effects may be consistent within a class of substances, assessment of the class is prioritized.

In addition, any person may request that the Ministers of Environment and of Health assess a substance under section 76(1) of CEPA to determine whether it is toxic or capable of becoming toxic. Once received, the Ministers evaluate the request to determine if there is sufficient evidence to add the substance to the Plan of Priorities. Instructions on how to submit a request, and a list of requests received with the rationale for accepting or denying the request, can be found on the Request to assess a substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 web page.

Substances identified as priorities for assessment

The list of substances prioritized for assessment is available on Plan of Priorities: substances prioritized for assessment under CEPA webpage. The rationales for prioritizing each substance, the list of specific chemicals to be included in each assessment, and the assessment timelines are available on the CEPA Registry. The list of chemicals in the Workplan will be updated periodically to reflect completed priorities and to add or remove chemicals as more information is collected through the assessment process, which may impact the scope of the assessment.

Activities to inform assessment approaches and future prioritization

To support future prioritization of substances and assessment activities, additional scoping may be conducted on various substances or topics of potential concern. This may include the development of an approach or plan. The following activities and initiatives may be pursued in relation to assessing, controlling or otherwise managing risks to the environment or human health posed by substances (as per CEPA 73(1)b):

Botanical extracts

Botanical extracts are complex chemical mixtures and are present in a wide variety of products used by consumers (for example, massage oils, hair oil, breath freshener, room spray, fragrances, wound treatment). Plant-derived extracts have many components that can be extracted from different parts of a plant (for example: leaves, seeds, stem, flower, root, fruits, woods, barks, grass, gum, tree blossoms, bulbs and flower buds). The amount of these main components can be affected by various factors, such as plant origin, species, temperature, soil, and geography. In addition, many of these extracts have different chemotypes (that is, different major chemical components produced from plants with the same genus and species). Therefore, the extracts from these plants may be chemically different even though their origin is the same. Additionally, many different extracts can contain the same components, which can lead to combined exposures or cumulative effects when multiple products are used. Certain components of these botanical extracts have shown adverse effects on human health, including endocrine activity and carcinogenicity. Also, there have been a number of poisonings reported in the literature involving various botanical extracts, including in Canada.

Some botanical extracts have previously been assessed, such as the acyclic, monocyclic, and bicyclic monoterpenes group, the monocyclic and bicyclic sesquiterpenes group, and methyl eugenol, some of which have been concluded to pose a risk to human health under CEPA. However, given that so many extracts contain the same components, assessing them individually has not allowed for consideration of cumulative risks.

Given the complexity of identifying the many components of these oils, along with their possible range of concentrations and human health effects, activities are proposed to identify data needs, to conduct information gathering, research, and monitoring, and to determine priorities for assessment or risk communication.

Chemicals in plastics

Plastics are made of many types of chemicals, including polymers (which are chains of monomers), additives (for example, plasticizers, flame retardants, stabilizers, pigments), processing aids (for example, catalysts, heat stabilizers, lubricants, solvents and viscosity modifiers), and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS). Plastics have a multitude of forms and applications in a wide range of products and sectors, some of which may lead to the release of these chemicals during their life cycle. Efforts are ongoing internationally to identify and manage chemicals in plastics that could be a concern to human health or the environment.

In Canada, the prioritization of substances for assessment under CEPA takes into consideration indicators of both hazard and exposure. The lists of chemicals in plastics compiled internationally can be used as a starting point to identify the substances used or potentially used in plastics in Canada. To determine if future assessment work is warranted on these substances under CEPA in relation to their use in plastics, a document on the prioritization approach for chemicals in plastics in Canada is being developed. This will take into consideration information such as the type of plastic involved, the function of the substance in the plastic, and the likelihood of its release from the plastic, to identify the chemicals that could be of potential concern to human health or the environment. The results of this exercise will serve to support work planning and the identification of assessment priorities on CEPA's Plan of Priorities.

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are substances that are manufactured at or within the nanoscale (1 to 100 nanometres inclusive) or have internal or surface structures in the nanoscale. They can behave differently from bulk substances and may have different uses and routes of exposure. A strategy will be developed for nanoforms of substances (manufactured nanomaterials) that are on the Domestic Substances List and known to be in commerce in Canada to determine which nanomaterials should be prioritized for assessment under CEPA. The strategy will also identify knowledge gaps and needs for further research or data gathering.

Pharmaceuticals in the environment

Pharmaceuticals contain ingredients that are designed to be biologically active in humans, livestock and companion animals, or farmed aquatic organisms (aquaculture). When pharmaceuticals are released into the environment, for example, during manufacture, use or disposal, even very small concentrations have the potential to affect organisms inhabiting the receiving environment. People may also be exposed to pharmaceuticals indirectly through contact with the environment, such as ingestion of drinking water. Some pharmaceuticals have endocrine disrupting properties. Some have common environmental exposure scenarios. For example, municipal wastewater may contain mixtures of pharmaceuticals from multiple sources, many of which are released on a continual basis but poorly removed during wastewater treatment, and therefore may have the potential to cause cumulative effects.

Pharmaceutical substances are required to be notified and undergo a pre-market evaluation by Health Canada for efficacy and direct impacts to human health under the Food and Drugs Act (F&DA). CEPA's New Substances Notification Regulations provide the framework for the environmental assessment of new substances used in or intended for use in pharmaceuticals. For pharmaceutical substances that are already in commerce in Canada, several have already been assessed individually under CEPA for their potential risk to human health (that is, through indirect exposure of the general population from environmental media, such as drinking water or air) and the environment. However, challenges have been acknowledged with assessing and managing pharmaceutical substances on an individual basis, especially from an ecological perspective.

The development of a whole-of-government approach that is flexible, adaptive, and innovative would help to proactively manage and prevent the risks posed by releases of pharmaceuticals into the environment, while simultaneously ensuring access to the benefits provided by those pharmaceuticals. This approach will be informed by assessments of pharmaceutical substances prioritized in the Plan of Priorities.

Results of previous prioritization exercises

The results of previous prioritization exercises, as well as further scoping on each substance or group, were taken into consideration when identifying substances for the Plan of Priorities. The results of previous prioritization exercises are available at the following links:

Approach and results for the prioritization of substances on the Revised in Commerce List

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2025-07-18