Government Takes More Action Under Groundbreaking Chemicals Management Plan

"Canadians expect their government to protect the environment from harmful chemicals, and that's why we are taking action," said Minister Baird. "Our initial assessment shows that four of these chemicals should be kept out of our environment and as a result we will be working with stakeholders to stop the release of these substances at the source."

"Our recent actions on bisphenol-A demonstrated our commitment to protecting the health of Canadians," said Minister Clement. "Our government identified these substances as a priority for real action following our world-leading categorization process, and today's announcement is further proof of our commitment to the safe management of chemical substances."

Out of the 16 chemical substances, five are proposed "toxic" to the environment. Four of these chemicals are being considered for virtual elimination which aims to reduce the release of these chemicals to the smallest levels possible. In addition, five substances are being proposed as "not toxic" to the environment based on new information received from interested parties.

The six remaining substances out of the 16 are proposed "toxic" to human health; however Canadians' exposure to these substances is very low. Potential toxicity to humans depends on the dose received and the way a person is exposed to a chemical.

The Government will work with industry to further reduce exposures to two of these six substances considered "toxic" to human health. While the remaining four substances can continue to be safely used without posing a risk to Canadians, the Government will apply special provisions so that these substances cannot be used in new ways that would increase exposure to Canadians.

The notices containing summaries of draft screening assessment reports for all Batch 2 substances proposed "toxic" will be published in Canada Gazette Part I on May 17. The notices for substances proposed "not toxic" will be published in Canada Gazette Part I on May 24.

The draft screening assessments as well as risk management documents for all Batch 2 substances can be found on the Chemicals Management Plan website: www.chemicalsubstances.gc.ca. Interested parties can submit comments on these documents until July 16, 2008.

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