Hazardous substance assessments

Hazardous substance assessments are technical documents that describe the classification of chemicals in the different hazard classes outlined in Schedule 2 to the Hazardous Products Act (HPA). These documents have been produced by Health Canada as educational and information resources.

Under the HPR, health hazards must be disclosed on the label of a hazardous product or the container in which the hazardous product is packaged (HPR Part 3). In addition, this information must be disclosed on the safety data sheet (SDS) (HPR Part 4).

Suppliers are responsible for producing SDSs that accurately disclose the hazards associated with products regulated under the HPA. Although the information contained in a hazardous substance assessment may be considered by suppliers when developing an SDS, the supplier is ultimately responsible for the accuracy and currency of the SDS. Suppliers may use publicly available information, as well as proprietary information, when developing an SDS.

While the classification information included in the hazardous substance assessments can serve as a guide for classifying a product, suppliers must classify their products:

• in accordance with the HPR
• based on established scientific principles
• supported by studies and scientific data at their disposal, whether publicly available or proprietary

Hazardous substance assessments are based solely on publicly available information and may not be completely up to date. For this reason, hazardous substance assessments are not used to determine whether an SDS is compliant under the HPA. Health Canada assesses the compliance of SDSs on a case-by-case basis, and in consideration of the information provided by the supplier to support its classifications.

For more information, see the Guidance on the WHMIS supplier requirements.

The information and classifications contained in these hazardous substance assessments are based on publicly available sources, such as peer-reviewed literature or reports by international bodies. New information, including proprietary information, could have an impact on the classification of substances or hazardous products containing them. It is the responsibility of the supplier to ensure the accuracy, sufficiency, and reliability of their hazardous product classifications.