Selenium Added to Federal Toxic List

Summary#

The Order Adding Toxic Substances to Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 adds selenium and its compounds to the federal list of toxic substances (Schedule 1). The order was registered on May 1, 2021 and published in the Canada Gazette on May 12, 2021, so it is in effect and allows the government to start developing controls if needed.

What it does#

• Adds item 146 — Selenium and its compounds to Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
• Gives the ministers (the federal departments that led the assessment, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada) the legal authority to propose risk-management measures, such as regulations or other controls, aimed at preventing or limiting environmental releases and human exposure.
• Does not itself impose new rules, limits, or costs. Any concrete controls would come later and would be subject to separate consultations.
• The order took effect when it was registered on May 1, 2021.

Who's affected#

• Industrial sectors that release selenium to the environment, in particular:
  • coal and metal mining,
  • base metals smelting and refining,
  • electricity generation linked to coal mining,
  • intensive agriculture, and
  • publicly owned wastewater treatment systems.
• People who may get higher-than-normal selenium exposure, including:
  • some Inuit who eat traditional foods (noted to have higher whole-blood selenium levels),
  • subsistence fishers who eat fish caught near point sources such as mines and smelters,
  • people taking supplements containing selenium (example: 400 µg of selenium in some multivitamin/mineral products).
• Manufacturers and sellers of products that contain selenium or selenium compounds (for example, some supplements, animal feeds, fertilizers, certain cosmetics and industrial uses).
• It is unclear exactly which businesses or households will face specific new requirements, because the order itself does not name particular rules or limits.

Why it matters#

• The screening assessment found risks to wildlife and people in some situations: selenium can build up in food chains and harm fish and birds (notably causing reproductive problems), and very high human exposure can cause selenosis (symptoms seen at whole-blood levels around 1,000 µg/L, with the tolerable upper intake whole-blood equivalent noted at 480 µg/L).
• Adding selenium to Schedule 1 is a first step. It lets federal authorities design targeted controls, monitoring, or limits to reduce releases and protect communities and ecosystems where selenium levels are elevated.
• For most Canadians, nothing changes immediately. But communities near mines, smelters, certain farms, wastewater outfalls, and people using some supplements may see new rules or guidance in future if the government chooses to act.