Government of Canada Reaches Key Milestone in Plan to Enhance Protection Against Harmful Chemicals

News Release
2010-110
June 28, 2010
For immediate release

OTTAWA - On June 26, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, celebrated the achievement of another critical milestone in Canada's world-leading Chemicals Management Plan (CMP).

Launched by Prime Minister Harper in 2006, the CMP is an ambitious plan to position Canada as a world leader in assessing and regulating chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products.

Together, the two Ministers released draft screening assessment reports for the 13 substances of Batch 10 of the Chemicals Management Plan.  Proposed risk management information on this batch of substances was also provided for those considered likely to require actions to reduce risks.

"The Government of Canada is committed to protecting Canadians from harmful chemicals," said Minister Aglukkaq. "This release of this next round of draft screening assessments marks another important milestone in our work to reduce Canadians exposure to harmful substances." 

"We are determined to protect Canadians and the environment they live in," said Minister Prentice. "This is the next important step in our Government's plan to protect Canadians by reducing the effect of harmful substances on both them and their environment."

The Government is proposing that one of the substances assessed in Batch 10, hydrazine (including hydrazine hydrate, a form of hydrazine in water), may be harmful to human health and the environment.  Hydrazine is an industrial chemical that also occurs naturally in tobacco. Exposure to the general population is expected to be low, as it is used mainly as a corrosion inhibitor in boiler water used at power generating plants.

In addition to proposing that hydrazine be added to Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999), recommended options for risk management focus on preventing or minimizing releases of hydrazine into water by facilities in Canada using boilers to produce steam or electricity.  The Government is also proposing that a future "use notification tool" be applied to this substance (in addition to other risk management activities). This would require that any proposed new manufacture, import or use be subject to further health and ecological assessment, and would determine if the new activity requires further risk management consideration.

Furthermore, the Government is also recommending that the Significant New Activity (SNAc) provisions of CEPA 1999 be applied to two additional substances (nickel BHMB and RFBS).  The Government's draft assessments indicate these substances do not pose a risk at this time under CEPA 1999; however, if enacted, this would require that any proposed new manufacture, import or use of these two chemicals be subject to further assessment, and would determine if the new activity requires further risk management consideration.

Notices containing summaries of the draft screening assessment reports were published in Canada Gazette, Part I, on June 26, 2010. The complete draft screening assessment reports for all Batch 10 substances and the proposed risk management scope for hydrazine can be found on the Chemicals Management Plan website. Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments on the draft screening assessments and proposed risk management scope before August 25, 2010.  

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