Federal Contaminated Site Risk Assessment in Canada: Guidance on Technical Review of Human Health Risk Assessments, Version 3.0

2025
ISBN: 978-0-660-79467-9
Cat.: H144-142/2025E-PDF

This guidance document (Federal Contaminated Site Risk Assessment in Canada: Guidance on Technical Review of Human Health Risk Assessments, Version 3.0) is a companion to Federal Contaminated Site Risk Assessment in Canada: Guidance on Human Health Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment (PQRA) and was prepared to provide guidance for custodians of federal contaminated sites.

The objective of this document is to promote the preparation of human health risk assessment (HHRA) reports that are consistent with Health Canada guidance. This guidance provides a standardized approach to technical review of HHRAs in the specific context of the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan. This document is designed specifically for the assessment of sites that are the property and/or the responsibility of federal agencies.

Although this guidance was designed as a tool to review Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessments, it can also be used to review more complex HHRAs that include contamination of multiple media and multiple areas of potential concern. Health Canada guidance entitled Supplemental Guidance: Checklist for Peer Review of Detailed Human Health Risk Assessment may also be used to review more complex HHRAs.

The Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP) is a program of the Government of Canada designed to achieve improved and continuing federal environmental stewardship as it relates to contaminated sites located on federally owned or operated properties, or non-federal lands for which the federal government has accepted full responsibility.