Twelve Substances Added to Domestic List

Summary#

Order 2023-87-04-01 Amending the Domestic Substances List adds 12 substances (chemicals and polymers) to Canada’s official inventory of existing substances, the Domestic Substances List, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The order came into force on March 14, 2023. Practically, the listed substances are no longer treated as “new” for the purposes of Canada’s new-substance notification rules.

What it does#

• Adds 2 substances (identified by CAS numbers) to Part 1 of the Domestic Substances List:
  • 29736-24-1
  • 1277168-16-7
• Adds 10 substances (identified by Confidential Accession Numbers / CANs and masked names) to Part 3 of the List:
  • 19638-6 N-P — Poly[oxy(alkyl-alkanediyl)], α-acetyl-ω-(alkenyloxy)-
  • 19639-7 N — Isocyanic acid, polymethylenepolyphenylene ester, polymer with α-hydro-ω-hydroxypoly[oxy(methyl-1,2-ethanediyl)] ether...
  • 19640-8 N-P — 2-Propenoic acid, alkylalkyl ester, polymer with alkene
  • 19641-9 N-P — 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, compound with 1,4-butanediamine and alkanediamine...
  • 19642-0 N-P — alkyl/alkenyl carboxylic acids, hydrogenated, polymers with substituted heteropolycycle...
  • 19643-1 N-P — 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, 2-hydroxyethyl ester, polymer with butyl 2-propenoate...
  • 19644-2 N-P — Alkanedioic acid, polymer with 1,4-butanediol, 1,2-ethanediamine...
  • 19645-3 N-P — 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, alkyl ester, polymer with butyl 2-propenoate...
  • 19646-4 N-P — 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, butyl ester, polymer with ethenylbenzene...
  • 19647-5 N-P — 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, polymer with butyl 2-propenoate...
• Because these substances are now on the List, they are no longer subject to the notification requirements under the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) (and related new-substance rules where applicable).

Who's affected#

• Companies that make, import or sell the specific substances listed. Those businesses will no longer need to submit new-substance notifications for these items.
• Suppliers, downstream users and distributors working with these chemicals or polymers in Canada.
• The federal department that manages the List (Department of the Environment) and the agencies that enforce CEPA rules.
• It is not clear from the order if any particular provinces, Indigenous communities or other groups will be directly affected beyond the general change for businesses and regulators.

Why it matters#

• Being added to the Domestic Substances List removes the extra step of a new-substance notification for the listed substances. That can make it faster and cheaper for companies to bring these substances into the Canadian market.
• The change is administrative: it does not mean the government is endorsing the substances, and other federal, provincial or local laws (health, safety, environmental) may still apply.
• According to the government’s analysis, these orders create no incremental compliance costs for businesses.