Canada Takes More Action to Protect Human Health and the Environment Under World Leading Chemicals Management Plan

(Health Canada)

The Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today [Saturday] announced as part of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan that eight new chemicals are now deemed to be toxic to human health, and one chemical is deemed toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999.

The Chemicals Management Plan was announced by Prime Minister Harper in December 2006, making Canada a world leader in assessing and regulating chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products.

“When we announced the Chemicals Management Plan in 2006 we made it clear our goal was to protect the health of Canadians from harmful substances,” said Minister Clement. “We identified these substances as a priority for action a year ago and our final assessments have confirmed that eight of these substances are toxic to human health and one is toxic to the environment.”

“Protecting and preserving our environment goes hand in hand with protecting the health of Canadians,” said Minister Baird. “These conclusions are an important step in protecting Canadians and their environment from the long-term harmful effects of chemicals.”

These nine chemicals were part of a batch of 15 chemicals, which were identified last year as high priorities and underwent a full risk assessment.

“Toxic” substances in Batch 1 include: CHPD (Yellow Dye); 1,2-benzenediol and 1,4-benzenediol; Methyl- and ethyloxirane; Toluene diisocyanates (TDIs) – (3 substances); and Naphthalene.

As part of the assessment, information was collected and assessed to determine whether these substances pose a risk to Canadians’ health or the environment and if any further action may be needed to minimize possible risks. The Government required industry and other stakeholders to provide information on specific substances.

Information on this batch of chemicals will be posted in the July 5, 2008 edition of Canada Gazette, Part I, including the data which determined the toxicity of these nine chemicals, and is also available on the Chemical’s Management Web site.

Under the Chemicals Management Plan, the Government has announced a total of six batches of chemicals for assessment. The remaining five batches are still being assessed.