Unmasking 198 Substances on DSL

Summary#

The federal government (Environment and Climate Change Canada) plans to reveal the identities of 198 substances that have been listed confidentially on the Domestic Substances List. The notice starts a public comment period of 60 days before a final order is made to move those substances from the confidential part of the list into the public part with Chemical Abstracts Service numbers.

What it does#

• Proposes to remove 198 substances from Part 3 (the confidential section) of the Domestic Substances List and add them to Part 1 under their Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry numbers.
• Publishes the masked names and confidential accession numbers in the proposed order so people can check whether a substance they work with is affected.
• Opens a 60-day comment period for anyone to send feedback or ask questions.
• Allows companies to apply for a masked name if they object to unmasking; the notice says there is no fee for that application.
• Notes the legal basis is section 317.2 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, a change that followed Bill S-5 and a policy to review confidentiality claims after 10 years.
• The proposed order would take effect when it is registered; a final order will be published later in Canada Gazette, Part II.

Who's affected#

• Businesses that manufacture, import or use the listed substances. These companies may lose the confidentiality of chemical identities they claimed.
• Suppliers, customers and competitors who may see new information about what chemicals are on the Canadian market.
• Researchers, environmental groups, public-health authorities and communities that want clearer information about chemicals present in Canada.
• Anyone unsure whether a particular commercial activity involves one of these substances can contact the New Substances program (contact details are in the notice).

Why it matters#

• It increases public transparency about chemicals sold or used in Canada. Names that were hidden for years would become public.
• That can help communities, researchers and regulators better track potential health or environmental risks and plan monitoring or response.
• It can also affect businesses by exposing information they previously considered confidential.
• The change follows a policy and law that aim to limit long-term secrecy for substance identities once a confidentiality claim is more than 10 years old.