What are Canadian agencies doing to evaluate and control the hazards of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – often referred to as “forever chemicals”? The short answer is “More all the time, directed at more types of PFAS.” On March 5, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada issued their joint “State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report” (Report), a 289 page status and plan report on research, information and regulatory efforts directed at PFAS hazards in Canada. The report completes a process that began in 2021, producing a draft Report In May 2023 and an updated draft in July 2024.
What are PFAS?
PFAs are thousands of synthetic chemical compounds, with multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. They are used in a very wide variety of uses in industry, consumer products and firefighting. Importantly for environmental and human health, they are persistent and mobile in the environment. Because of their environmental persistence, they are frequently called “forever chemicals.” Furthermore, exposure can lead to a broad range of adverse health effects, including developmental effects to fetuses or infants (e.g., low birth weight, accelerated puberty, skeletal variations), liver effects (e.g., tissue damage), and immune system effects (e.g., antibody production and immunity). Because of their wide applications, environmental fates and impacts, PFAS materials and wastes are potentially subject to many environmental, public health and worker safety laws.
What are Canadian agencies doing?
Much of the Report describes uses for PFAS since their introduction in the 1940s (including non-stick pans, fire-resistant clothing and materials, and fire suppression foams); inevitable releases into wastes and waterways, and into humans and other living beings; and research to understand the impacts of these persistent materials on human and environmental health. The Report also summarizes a variety of Canadian (federal and provincial) and international regulatory initiatives designed to reduce and control releases, and to require remediation. Generally, study and control of PFAS hazards began with a small number of specific compounds and situations, and is steadily expanding as the ubiquity, persistence, and potential hazards of many PFAS compounds become clearer. Specific examples include:
- ECCC gathers information (applying Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) authority) about specific PFAS, beginning with notifications under ECCC’s New Substances Notification Regulations. These notifications inform the development of regulatory controls and requirements, up to bans on the manufacture, importation, and use or targeted compounds.
- ECCC applies CEPA authority to evaluate hazards from specific PFAS and prescribe environmental limits – by chemical analyses, environmental concentration and impact assessments, and human (and other species) health assessments. Other agencies have similar programs.
- Agencies prescribe standards to protect human health and the environment, including existing drinking water quality guidelines and soil screening values (federal, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec), and broader surface and groundwater and soil guidelines developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME).
- The Government remediates federal-responsible sites on the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory, including for PFAS, applying appropriate guidelines.
- Federal, provincial, and municipal agencies apply regulatory standards to waste management facilities.
- Canada and the U.S. address discharges into the Great Lakes, applying the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA)
How are agency actions expanding responsibilities related to PFAS?
Although the pace and location vary, general trends regarding PFAS are well established:
- Additional types of PFAS are being studied, to determine their hazards and pervasiveness.
- Additional types are being declared hazardous to human health and the environment (based on these studies).
- Additional standards are being developed to manage these hazards – in wastes, land and water contamination, and exposures raise concerns for human health (individuals such as workers, and the public). For example, CCME is developing soil and groundwater quality guidelines for perfluorooctanoic acid (used as industrial feedstock and surfactant).
- As new standards come into force, entities involved with waste and (potentially) contaminated land and water will need to determine their responsibilities.
What’s next?
The latest Report provides an extensive compilation of PFAS-related activities by agencies throughout Canada (with references to activities by other nations and international organizations), which organizations may wish to review. It provides a useful reminder of the extent to which PFAS-related responsibilities are expanding. Meanwhile, readers should be aware that agencies (federal, provincial and even local) continue their respective research and regulatory activities; for example, in March ECCC also proposed a multi-phased risk management strategy for PFAS (excluding fluoropolymers), phasing in prohibitions as follows:
- Phase 1: prohibit use of PFAS not currently regulated in firefighting foams.
- Phase 2: prohibit uses of PFAS not needed for the protection of health, safety or the environment. This would be prioritized based on benefit-cost analyses, and includes cosmetics; natural health products and non-prescription drugs; food packaging materials, food additives, non-industrial food contact products; paint and coating, adhesive and sealant and other building materials available to consumers; consumer mixtures such as cleaning products, waxes and polishes; textiles; and ski waxes.
- Phase 3: prohibit the uses of PFAS requiring further evaluation of the role of PFAS for which currently there may not be feasible, including fluorinated gas applications; prescription drugs (human and veterinary); medical devices; industrial food contact materials; industrial sectors such as mining and petroleum; and transport and military applications.
Organizations that make or use PFAS should pay close attention, and landowners and other parties who know or suspect PFAS contamination should also be ready to respond to changing requirements.
Self-Assessment Checklist
Does the organization manufacture or import any PFAS?
- If so, was a New Substance Notice submitted for each PFAS?
Does the organization own or operate any facility where PFOA or PFOS are used?
- If so, has the organization evaluated the property for possible contamination?
- If so, is the organization prepared to notify appropriate environmental and emergency response organizations hours after an unauthorized release?
- If so, does the organization manage any PFAS present in wastestreams?
- If so, has the organization evaluated whether other materials might be substituted for PFAS?
Where can I go for more information?
About the Author
Jon Elliott is President of Touchstone Environmental and has been a major contributor to STP’s product range for over 30 years.
Mr. Elliott has a diverse educational background. In addition to his Juris Doctor (University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1981), he holds a Master of Public Policy (Goldman School of Public Policy [GSPP], UC Berkeley, 1980), and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Princeton University, 1977).
Mr. Elliott is active in professional and community organizations. In addition, he is a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the GSPP Alumni Association, and past member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California's Environmental Law Section (including past chair of its Legislative Committee).
You may contact Mr. Elliott directly at: tei@ix.netcom.com