Organotins: Two Made Subject to SNAc

On August 19, two organotins (tetraphenyltin and fluoro-triphenyltin) currently on the Domestic Substances List under CEPA were made subject to the Significant New Activity (SNAc) provisions of CEPA. Non-pesticidal organotin compounds were initially assessed by the Canadian government in 1993 and found to be not toxic to the environment. However, in the six years following that assessment, nine "new" or "transitional" organotins were assessed by the federal government, which condluded that these nine substances were suspected to be CEPA-toxic. This resulted in a follow-up ecological assessment of organotins already on the Domestic Substances List. As a result of this follow-up assessment, any new use, manufacture of import of tetraphenyltin and fluoro-triphenyltin will be required to undergo ecological and human health risk assessments.

Lead: Federal Regulations Pending?

Last Thursday, Carly Weeks of the Globe & Mail reported that the Canadian government may release regulations as early as this Thursday to restrict lead content from new consumer products including strollers, playpens, high chairs, cooking utensils, incense and chemical fire logs.

CMP: Batch 5 Decisions Released

On August 22, the Canadian government released its final decisions on the screening asssessments of the 19 substances in Batch 5 of the Chemicals Management Plan. Of the 19 substances, two were determined to be CEPA-toxic: 2-Propenamide (acrylamide) and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate or TCEP. Acrylamide is used in the manufacture of various polymers which in turn are used as binding, thickening or flocculating agents in a variety of consumer products including food packaging. TCEP is used as a plasticizer in polyurethanes, polyester resins, polyacrylates and other polymers, which in turn is used in furniture products, roofing products, upholstery and some electronic products.

Of the 17 substances that will NOT be added to the Toxic Substances List, the federal government determined that two should be made subject to the Significant New Activity (SNAc) provisions of CEPA: the dye Disperse Orange 5, and the material preservative 2-chloroacetamide. The federal government determined that neither substance was being manufactured or imported into Canada above 100 kg per calendar year. If this changes, these chemicals will be reassessed.

Bisphenol-A: Ottawa Citizen Article on Non-Polycarbonate Bottles

The August 8th edition of the Ottawa Citizen contained an article on non-polycarbonate bottles containing bisphenol-A. The article cited Health Canada testing of non-polycarbonate bottles carried out in 2008 during the risk assessment of bisphenol-A under the Chemicals Management Plan. The Health Canada test results were published in an article in the June 2009 edition of the journal Food Additives & Contaminants. Health Canada posted specific test results to the Health Canada website on August 7th.