© Elena Berd stock.adobe.com
The Canadian government is seeking feedback on its plans to develop criteria for identifying substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR).
Once finalised, Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) would use the criteria to determine whether a substance qualifies as CMR and should be added to the list of substances prioritised for prohibition under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).
The plan to craft CMR regulations follows legislative changes made to CEPA in 2023 that, among other amendments, split the CEPA schedule 1 list of toxic substances into two parts. ‘Part 1’ of the list includes the highest risk substances that must be partially or totally prohibited, while ‘part 2’ includes other CEPA-toxic substances targeted for pollution prevention actions.
The new consultation document sets out the government’s plan to craft regulations for determining whether a substance is CMR, one of three criteria for distinguishing which substances merit ‘part 1’ listing.
Under the revised CEPA statute, a substance must be recommended for addition to ‘part 1’ where it meets the law’s section 64 criteria for general toxicity as well as any of three additional criteria set out in section 77(3), as follows:
- has a long-term effect on the environment and is deemed to be inherently toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative, the result of human activity and not naturally occurring;
- constitutes a danger to human health and is CMR; or
- poses "the highest risk" based on its properties or characteristics.
Canada already has regulations defining the criteria for persistence and bioaccumulation, which were used to support a proposal issued in January to add the industrial paint ingredient methylstyrenated phenol (MSP) to ‘part 1’ of the schedule 1 list.
The government said it is not currently proposing rules to define a substance of highest risk (SHR).
CMR criteria based on GHS
Health Canada and ECCC outlined the planned CMR criteria in a consultation document issued on 3 October.
As proposed, Canada would align its definition with the CMR criteria under the UN’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS).
"This approach will build on an existing body of research and can be used to inform future updates to the regulations based on the latest information and scientific knowledge," the agencies said.
Comments on the consultation document are due by 2 December.
A formal proposal for the CMR regulations is expected to be published "by 2027", the agencies said.