Reference Manual for the WHMIS Requirements of the Hazardous Products Act and Controlled Products Regulations

CPR Section 4 - Concentration Cut-off

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PART I - MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET

Exemptions - Concentration Cut-off

4. The sale or importation of a controlled product, other than a complex mixture or a component of a controlled product that is a complex mixture, is exempt from the application of paragraph 13(a) or 14(a) of the Act in respect of the requirement to disclose on a material safety data sheet the chemical identity and the concentration of

1. an ingredient that is found in the controlled product in a concentration of less than 0.1 per cent and is a teratogen or an embryotoxin referred to in section 53, a carcinogen referred to in section 54, a reproductive toxin referred to in section 55, a respiratory tract sensitizer referred to in section 56 or a mutagen referred to in section 57; or
2. an ingredient that is an ingredient other than an ingredient referred to in paragraph (a) and that is found in the controlled product in a concentration of less than one per cent, unless the ingredient is included in the Ingredient Disclosure List and the concentration specified for the ingredient in the List is 0.1 per cent.

Interpretation / Discussion of Section 4

This section establishes the cut-off concentrations for ingredients below which an ingredient does not have to be disclosed on an MSDS. (Where ingredients present below their cut-off may have an additive or synergistic effect, suppliers are encouraged to disclose the identity and concentration of those ingredients)

Ingredients that are teratogens, embryotoxins, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, respiratory tract sensitizers or mutagens as defined by the hazard criteria do not have to be disclosed if they are present below 0.1% (weight/weight). Any other ingredient referred to in subparagraphs 13(a)(i) to (iv) of the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) need not be disclosed if its concentration is less than 1% (weight/weight), unless it is on the Ingredient Disclosure List (IDL) and the concentration specified on the IDL for that ingredient is 0.1% (weight/weight).

It should be noted that, by virtue of section 3 of these Regulations, the cut-off concentrations set out in this section are expressed on a weight/weight basis. (By virtue of subsection 11(1), the concentration of an ingredient can be expressed on the MSDS as weight/volume or volume/volume.)

Complex mixtures: The cut-off exemptions from the requirements of paragraphs 13(a) and 14(a) of the HPA established by this section of the CPR do not apply to a controlled product that is a complex mixture nor to a component of a controlled product that is a complex mixture. (For requirements related to ingredient disclosure of complex mixtures, refer to section 5 of the CPR).

Conflicting cut-off concentrations: Where the concentration cut-off established under paragraph 4(a) of the CPR for an ingredient within a mixture is lower than the cut-off established in the IDL, the lower cut-off takes precedence; {ref.: PIS No. 59}.