Environment chemical assessments and notices

Summary#

This Canada Gazette notice (Part I, March 8, 2025) publishes several Environment-related announcements. It includes a permit with conditions for a specific multi-walled carbon nanotube, updated and final assessments for groups of chemicals (boric acid; benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles; PFAS), a proposed drinking-water guideline for arsenic, and a short public consultation on three genetically modified GloFish. These steps either set immediate limits (for the nanotube) or start processes that could lead to new rules and risk-management measures.

What it does#

• Allows the manufacture or import of a specific carbon nanotube under Ministerial Condition No. 21979 (Confidential Substance Identity Number 19763-1) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, but only with strict conditions. Key limits include:

  • No use in consumer products that can create respiratory spray/aerosols.
  • Coating products: maximum 0.01% by weight of the substance.
  • Structural building materials: maximum 0.06% by weight of the substance.
  • These ministerial conditions came into force on February 21, 2025.

• Publishes an updated draft assessment of boric acid, its salts and its precursors and proposes adding them to Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The government released a revised risk-management scope and invited public comments from March 8, 2025, to May 7, 2025.

• Publishes the final assessment of the Benzotriazoles and Benzothiazoles Group:

  • Concludes that 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and its precursors meet one or more criteria under CEPA and proposes recommending their addition to Part 2 of Schedule 1.
  • Concludes that nine benzotriazole substances do not meet CEPA criteria, and no further action is proposed for them now.
  • A risk-management approach for the substances recommended for action is released; public comments open March 8, 2025, to May 7, 2025.

• Publishes the executive summary of the State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report and proposes to list the class of PFAS (excluding fluoropolymers) in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to CEPA. The ministers propose phased regulations, including prohibiting some PFAS uses in firefighting foams. A risk-management approach is released; public comments open March 8, 2025, to May 7, 2025.

• Announces a draft Guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality — Arsenic from Health Canada, proposing a maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) of 0.005 mg/L (5 μg/L) in drinking water. The draft is open for comment from March 7, 2025, to May 6, 2025.

• Opens a 30-day consultation (comments accepted March 8 to April 6, 2025) on three genetically modified aquarium fish (GloFish® Corydoras lines) notified by Spectrum Brands Canada. The government seeks scientific or other information about potential environmental or human-health risks.

Who's affected#

• Companies that make, import, or use the specified multi-walled carbon nanotube (manufacturers, importers, downstream users of coatings, consumer products, and building materials). Also their customers and product safety teams.

• Industries and sectors that make or use boric acid and related substances, including:

  • cellulose and fiberglass insulation, cleaning products, cosmetics and personal care, gypsum and engineered wood manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture (fertilizers), pulp and paper, rubber and chemical manufacturing, mining, and packaging.
  • The updated assessment cites imports of roughly 54,810 tonnes to 65,795 tonnes annually (2017–2020) — indicating wide commercial use.

• Companies using or making benzothiazoles and benzotriazoles, such as rubber and tire manufacturers (vulcanization accelerators), metalworking and lubricant industries, and users of UV stabilizers (cosmetics, packaging, coatings).

• A wide range of sectors that use PFAS: firefighting services (AFFF foams), textile and carpet makers, electronics, food-packaging producers, medical device and cosmetic manufacturers, wastewater and solid-waste managers, and communities near contaminated sites. Also potentially affected are northern and Indigenous communities and firefighters, who the report notes may experience higher exposures.

• Municipal water utilities, private well owners, and companies that make residential or municipal water-treatment systems because of the proposed arsenic MAC of 0.005 mg/L (5 μg/L).

• Aquarium retailers, hobbyists, and regulators in charge of novel organisms because of the GloFish consultation submitted by Spectrum Brands Canada.

Why it matters#

• The nanotube permit and its tight limits (e.g., 0.01% in coatings; 0.06% in structural materials) aim to reduce the chance that these tiny particles become airborne and inhaled. That matters for worker safety, product design, and companies planning to use this nanomaterial.

• The boric acid update flags that current exposures from many common uses may be linked to health and ecological risks. If added to Schedule 1, boric acid and its precursors could face future controls that affect many everyday products and industrial processes.

• The benzothiazoles finding (MBT and precursors) identifies a specific environmental concern tied to rubber and mining releases. Businesses in those sectors may see targeted regulation or monitoring in future.

• The PFAS report is significant because it treats the broad class (except fluoropolymers) as meeting CEPA concern criteria. That could lead to far-reaching controls across many products and uses. PFAS are persistent and widespread; listing them signals potential bans, phase-outs, or strict rules down the line.

• The proposed arsenic guideline of 0.005 mg/L (5 μg/L) could require changes in treatment for some water systems and give private-well owners reason to test or upgrade treatment.

• The GloFish consultation shows the government is asking the public for science or local knowledge before finishing its assessment of those genetically modified fish. That can influence whether they are allowed, restricted, or require conditions.

If you want to comment on any of the consultations, the notices give official contact routes (email addresses and online portals) and specific comment windows.