Lab Accreditation Updates for Four CEPA Rules

Summary#

These final regulations update lab-testing rules in four regulations made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. They make it clearer which laboratory accreditations are acceptable and fix a few wording problems. The changes came into force on registration (March 18, 2021) and were published in the Canada Gazette on March 31, 2021.

What it does#

• For the 2-Butoxyethanol Regulations, PCB Regulations, Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012, and Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations, the rules now say any analysis must be done by a lab that, at the time of testing, either:
  • is accredited under the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17025 by an accrediting body that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement, or
  • is accredited under Quebec’s Environment Quality Act.
• The lab’s accreditation must cover the specific test being done. If there is no recognized test method for a substance, the analysis must follow widely accepted scientific practice.
• The amendments remove the word “quantity” from some places that referred to concentration or quantity, to simplify wording.
• The PCB Regulations get a wording fix in the English version: “restoration” is replaced with “remediation.”
• The Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations are tweaked to make the definition of “toiletries” clearer and to change “prescription drugs” to “a prescription drug” so it lines up with the Food and Drug Regulations.

Who's affected#

• Laboratories that do environmental and product testing under these regulations. They will need to hold the accredited scope required by the new wording.
• Companies that make, import or sell products covered by the 2-Butoxyethanol Regulations, PCB Regulations, Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012, and Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations. This includes manufacturers, importers and some small businesses that previously had to retest products in Canada.
• Regulators and inspectors who rely on test results to check compliance.
• It is not clear that these changes affect Indigenous communities; the government said no specific impacts were expected.

Why it matters#

• It reduces unnecessary repeat testing in Canada by accepting results from appropriately accredited labs in other countries. That can save time and money for businesses and speed up regulatory checks.
• It creates one clear standard for acceptable laboratory accreditation. That helps labs and companies know what is needed to meet the rules.
• The changes are administrative and do not change the environmental goals of the affected regulations. They mainly improve clarity and consistency in how tests are validated.