Atrazine: US EPA to Commence Assessment this Fall

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced on October 7, 2009 that they were going to commence a comprehensive health assessment of the pesticide atrizine (one of the most widely used agricultural pesticides in the United States). Health Canada carried out a re-evaluation of atrizine in 2007, and the non-pesticide uses of atrizine were the subject of a screening level assessment completed earlier this year.

Pesticides in Canada: Jurisdictional Issue Regarding Sale of Prohibited Products

In Canada, jurisdiction over environmental matters is not exclusively assigned to one level of government. Rather, environmental regulations on a particular topic can be found at the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. Nowhere has this fact become more apparent than in the regulation of pesticides. A number of years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a municipal by-law (in Hudson, Quebec) that banned the application of pesticides for "cosmetic" purposes. Following that ruling, many Canadian municipalities enacted similar by-laws. The federal government in Canada regulates the manufacture and import of pesticides in Canada, while the province regulates the application of pesticides and licences professional applicators. Thus, many municipalities have banned the cosmetic use of pesticides that have been approved by the federal government for use in Canada. The result - some pesticides approved for use in Canada by the federal government are now (legally) on store shelves in municipalities that ban the application of those pesticides. A CBC News story recently pointed this out by covering efforts by an environmental NGO (Western Canada Wilderness Committee) to have this "loophole" closed. Products were on sale at the local Canadian Tire store.

Bisphenol-A: UNC Study Regarding Early Childhood Behaviour Drawing Plenty of Press

A University of North Carolia study examining the link between exposure to Bisphenol A ("BPA") during pregnancy and early childhood behaviour has drawn a fair amount of press (including an October 6th Canadian Press article and an October 7th article in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel). The study (published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives) examined BPA levels in urine samples from 249 pregnant women in Cincinnati at 16 and 26 weeks pregnancy, and again at birth. This is the first study to examine the association between prenatal BPA exposure and childhood behavior. The study concluded that there was no association between mean urinary BPA concentrations and behavior scores among all children. However, it did conclude that there was an association between mean prenatal BPA concentrations and externalizing behavioural scores in females (but not boys). The American Chemistry Council put out a press statement in reply (found here) stating that there are significant limitations in the study design, in part due to the small size of the study group and the failure to assess other causes of behavioural issues.

Chemicals: Section 71 CEPA Notice Published

The Canadian government published a Notice under section 71 of CEPA (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999) requesting manufacturing and importation information related to approximately 500 chemicals. The requested information relates to calendar year 2008, and is due in March 2010.

Biotech: Section 71 CEPA Notice Issued

The Canada Gazette today contained a section 71 Notice under CEPA (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999) that kicks off the government's information gathering process for 44 animate substances manufactured or imported into Canada. The information to be provided by March 2010 relates to amounts manufactured or imported into Canada in calendar year 2008.

Organotins: Two Proposed to be Added to TSL

Today's Canada Gazette contained a proposed Order to add tributyltins and tetrabutyltins to the Toxic Substances List under CEPA (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999). These were assessed (along with seven other organotins) under the New Substances Program, and the results of the assessment published in August of this year. Comments are available on the proposed Order until December 2, 2009.

Chemicals Management Plan: Five Substances to be Added to TSL

Today, the Canadian Government published proposed Orders to add five substances to the Toxic Substances List (three from Batch 4 and two from Batch 5 of the Chemicals Management Plan. The five substances are: diethyl sulfate (a man-made organic chemical widely used to manufacture other chemicals used in a variety of manufacturing processes); dimethyl sulfate (a substance used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry to prepare dyes, agricultural chemicals, drugs and specialty products); BNST (a substance used in engine oil and industrial lubricants); acrylamide (used to produce polymers used as a binding, thickening or mixing agent in grout, cement, water treatment, pesticides, cosmetics and food manufacturing); and TCEP (a plasticizer and viscosity regulator with flame retardent properties used in textiles, furniture, electronics, and automobiles). Comments on the proposed Orders are due December 2, 2009.