Chromium electroplating regulations amended

Summary#

These are small, technical changes to the Chromium Electroplating, Chromium Anodizing and Reverse Etching Regulations. They clarify which labs count as accredited, fix some English–French wording, and let facilities follow tensiometer manufacturers’ instructions instead of an outdated technical standard. The amendments came into force on March 16, 2020 and were published in the Canada Gazette on April 1, 2020.

What it does#

• Clarifies laboratory accreditation requirements. A lab doing analyses for compliance must be accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 by an accreditor that is a signatory to the ILAC MRA, or accredited under Quebec’s Environment Quality Act, and its accreditation must cover the specific tests being done.
• Removes the specific reference to an old ASTM standard for measuring surface tension. Instead, surface tension must be measured according to the tensiometer or stalagmometer manufacturer’s instructions. This lets facilities use any commercially available tensiometer that follows its maker’s instructions.
• Fixes wording differences between the English and French versions (for example, changing the English heading to “Reporting and Notices” and a small correction in the French text).
• Confirms the amendments are in force as of March 16, 2020.

Who's affected#

• Facilities in metal finishing that use more than 50 kg of chromium trioxide per calendar year. There are about 160 such facilities in Canada, most of them small or medium-sized businesses.
• Laboratories that analyze compliance samples. They must meet the clearer accreditation rules.
• Inspectors and regulators who apply the rules, because the wording is now clearer.

Why it matters#

• The changes remove ambiguity about which labs are acceptable. That makes compliance checks clearer and reduces disputes over lab results.
• Letting facilities use a wider range of tensiometers may reduce minor compliance costs and make it easier to maintain required measurements.
• The amendments are technical and do not create new obligations or significant new costs. They aim to make the existing rules easier to follow while keeping the same level of protection against releases of hexavalent chromium.