Priority Substances List Assessment Report for Textile Mill Effluents

1.0 Introduction

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) requires the federal Ministers of Environment and of Health to prepare and publish a Priority Substances List (PSL) that identifies substances, including chemicals, groups of chemicals, effluents and wastes, that may be harmful to the environment or constitute a danger to human health. The Act also requires both Ministers to assess those substances and determine whether they are "toxic" as defined in Section 64 of the Act, which states:

...a substance is toxic if it is entering or may enter the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that

1. have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity;
2. constitute or may constitute a danger to the environment on which life depends; or
3. constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health.

Substances that are assessed as "toxic" as defined in Section 64 may be placed on Schedule I of the Act and considered for possible risk management measures, such as regulations, guidelines, pollution prevention plans or codes of practice to control any aspect of their life cycle, from the research and development stage through manufacture, use, storage, transport and ultimate disposal.

Based on an initial screening of readily accessible information, the rationale for assessing textile mill effluents (TMEs) provided by the Ministers' Expert Advisory Panel on the Second Priority Substances List (Ministers' Expert Advisory Panel, 1995) was as follows:

Textile mill effluents are complex mixtures of chemicals, varying in composition over time and from mill to mill. They can include high concentrations of suspended solids and metals, extreme pH and elevated temperatures. Given the many mills across the country, exposure is widespread. Studies indicate that effluents have harmful effects on a wide variety of aquatic organisms. An assessment is needed to evaluate the widespread toxicity and biological impact of treated and untreated textile mill effluents on aquatic ecosystems. The assessment should include the examination of the fate and effects of dyes in aquatic environments downstream.

A description of the approaches to assessment of the effects of Priority Substances on the environment is available in a published companion document. The document, entitled "Environmental Assessments of Priority Substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Guidance Manual Version 1.0 -March 1997" (Environment Canada, 1997), provides guidance for conducting environmental assessments of Priority Substances in Canada. This document may be purchased from:

• Environmental Protection Publications
  Environmental Technology Advancement Directorate
  Environment Canada
  Ottawa, Ontario
  K1A 0H3

It is also available on the Internet at www.ec.gc.ca/cceb1/ese/eng/esehome.htm under the heading "Guidance Manual." It should be noted that the approach outlined therein has evolved to incorporate recent developments in risk assessment methodology, which will be addressed in future releases of the guidance manual for environmental assessments of Priority Substances.

The focus of the assessment was a determination of whether TMEs could be "toxic" under Paragraph 64(a) of CEPA 1999. The basis for inclusion of "Textile Mill Effluents" by the Ministers' Expert Advisory Panel on the Second Priority Substances List was limited to environmental effects (namely on aquatic ecosystems). Given their rationale (Ministers' Expert Advisory Panel, 1995), the focus of the assessment of TMEs was on liquid effluents discharged into aquatic systems and did not include other waste streams, such as air emissions or solid waste. Moreover, the general human population is unlikely to be directly exposed to TMEs. Based on information identified, it was determined that consideration of the effects of TMEs on the environment upon which life depends was not relevant to the assessment of TMEs. Therefore, detailed consideration of whether TMEs are "toxic" as defined under Paragraphs 64(b) and 64(c) of CEPA 1999 was not included in this assessment.

There were a number of textile-related industries that may have had some liquid discharges but were excluded from the assessment. Those included:

• dry processing mills that conduct only processes such as spinning, weaving and knitting that do not consume water and whose discharges are limited to domestic wastewater and equipment washing water (U.S. EPA, 1978; Chen, 1989);
• laundering facilities that are not involved in the production of textiles; however, some of the chemicals used during textile manufacturing may be released during the laundering process, along with detergents or other cleaning products (SNCI, 1997); and
• facilities involved with the manufacture of synthetic fibres through chemical processes that were determined through the characterization portion of the assessment not to have wet processing activities (Chen, 1989).

Due to the wide range of chemical and physical characteristics of TMEs that were suspected to vary from mill to mill as well as on a temporal basis at individual mills, a whole-effluent approach was taken for the assessment. Given the rationale of the Ministers' Expert Advisory Panel, a review of the effects of dyes released during textile processing was also conducted. Since it was also known that TMEs have various degrees of treatment prior to discharge, mills were evaluated by level of treatment to determine the effectiveness of those treatment types.

Two surveys of the Canadian textile industry were carried out to collect information for the TME assessment. A voluntary survey in association with the Canadian Textiles Institute was conducted in 1997 and was followed by a mandatory survey conducted in 1999 under the authority of Section 16 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

The search strategies employed in the identification of data relevant to the assessment of potential effects on the environment are presented in Appendix A. In summary, on-line databases were searched for relevant world literature and scientific and trade journals were monitored for the duration of the assessment. In addition, information on the effects of TMEs was solicited from the municipalities where textile mills were known to be located as well as from provincial environment departments. All original studies that form the basis for determining whether TMEs are "toxic" under CEPA 1999 have been critically evaluated by staff of Environment Canada.

An Environmental Resource Group was established by Environment Canada to assist in the preparation and review of the environmental sections of the Assessment Report and supporting documentation (Environment Canada, 2000). Members were selected based on their expertise, notably in the areas of toxicology, environmental effects and risk assessment, as well as their knowledge of the textile industry. Members included:

• W. Belschner, Canadian Textiles Institute
• R. Breton, Environment Canada
• K. Doe, Environment Canada
• E. Fédida, Environment Canada
• J. Fraser, Water Technology International Corporation
• C. Garron, Environment Canada
• T. Helmes, Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigment Manufacturers
• K. Kennedy, Environment Canada
• T. Leah, Environment Canada
• J. Maguire, Environment Canada
• D. Minns, National Research Council of Canada
• D. Moore, The Cadmus Group
• H. Motschi, Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigment Manufacturers
• L. Rutherford, Environment Canada
• A. Schnell, Conor Pacific
• J.-P. Thomé, Université de Liège
• M. Weltrowski, Textile Technology Centre

The assessment was led by W.R. Ernst of Environment Canada.

Peer review of the report was provided by E. Barry (Canadian Textiles Institute), D. Bennie (National Water Research Institute), S. Courtenay (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and K. Solomon (Centre for Toxicology/University of Guelph).

The Assessment Report was reviewed and approved by the Environment Canada/Health Canada CEPA Management Committee.

A draft of the Assessment Report was made available for a 60-day public comment period (July 1 to August 30, 2000) (Environment Canada and Health Canada, 2000b). Following consideration of comments received, the Assessment Report was revised as appropriate. A summary of the comments and responses is available on the Internet at:

 www.ec.gc.ca/cceb1/en g/final/index_e.html

The text of the Assessment Report has been structured to address environmental effects relevant to determination of "toxic" under Paragraph 64(a) of CEPA 1999.

Copies of this Assessment Report are available upon request from:

• Inquiry Centre Environment Canada
  Main Floor, Place Vincent Massey
  351 St. Joseph Blvd.
  Hull, Quebec
  K1A 0H3

or on the Internet at:

 www.ec.gc.ca/cceb1/en g/final/index_e.html

Unpublished supporting documentation (Environment Canada, 2000); which presents additional information, is available upon request from:

• Commercial Chemicals Evaluation Branch
  Environment Canada
  14th Floor, Place Vincent Massey
  351 St. Joseph Blvd.
  Hull, Quebec
  K1A 0H3