Titanium Substances Assessment and Listing Change

Summary#

• The government published an order that removes five chemical identifiers from the Non-domestic Substances List and, as described in the notice, adds them to the Domestic Substances List. The order was signed on June 5, 2026 and published in the Canada Gazette on June 20, 2026.
• The departments also published a health and environment assessment of the Titanium-containing Substances Group (a group of 13 substances) and said the ministers — Julie Dabrusin and Marjorie Michel — propose to take no further action because the substances do not meet the risk criteria in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

What it does#

• Order changing lists:

  • Removes these CAS numbers from Part I of the Non-domestic Substances List: 623-53-0, 34398-05-5, 73038-32-1, 91001-61-5, 2561414-35-3.
  • The notice says those substances have been added to the Domestic Substances List.
  • The order’s effect starts when a related order, Order 2026-87-07-01 Amending the Domestic Substances List, comes into force (no specific date given in this notice).

• Titanium group assessment and ministerial statements:

  • Publishes the assessment of 13 titanium-containing substances and the ministers’ statement that they do not meet the tests in section 64 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The ministers therefore propose no further action now.
  • Summarizes how the substances are used in Canada: mining and refining, paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, textiles, consumer products (cosmetics, cleaning products, toys), some food additives, electronics and more.
  • Reports on exposure and risk findings:
    • Industry survey found 10 of 11 surveyed substances were manufactured or imported above the reporting threshold of 100 kg.
    • Blood monitoring (Canadian Health Measures Survey) shows titanium was not detected at or above 10 µg/L in 99.97% of tested people.
    • A key toxicity benchmark (NOAEL) used was 623 mg Ti/kg bw/day (equivalent to 1 000 mg TiO2/kg bw/day), and a biomonitoring equivalent was set at 65 µg/L.
    • Children aged 4 to 13 had higher estimated exposure from food and the environment, but measured blood levels were below the biomonitoring equivalent.
  • For the environment, a risk-classification method concluded the group is unlikely to be causing ecological harm.

Who's affected#

• Chemical manufacturers and importers who make or bring into Canada the specific substances listed by CAS number. They will notice the change in list status.
• Industries that use titanium-containing substances, including:
  • mining and refining,
  • paints and coatings,
  • adhesives and sealants,
  • textiles and fabric treatments,
  • food packaging and some food additives,
  • cosmetics, cleaning products, toys and electronics.
• Public health and environmental researchers and regulators who track substance assessments and monitoring data.
• The general public, especially parents of young children and people living near industrial sites, because the assessment looked at exposure for those groups (the report found current exposure levels to be low).

Why it matters#

• Changing a substance’s listing from non-domestic to domestic signals that the government now recognizes it as a substance present in Canada and has completed the administrative step of adding it to the Domestic Substances List. That can affect how the substance is tracked and considered in future oversight or regulation.
• The titanium-group assessment says there is low concern for both human health and the environment at current exposure levels. That means no new controls or warnings were proposed now, but the assessment documents where the substances are used and where exposure may be higher (for example, children and certain local communities).
• For everyday people, the takeaway is that many common products contain titanium-containing substances, but federal testing and modelling found low risk at current levels of use and exposure.