Regulatory
REGULATORY NEWS FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 19, 2019
Canadian Federal News
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The dates and locations for the information sessions are as follows:
Calgary: Marriott Downtown – 110 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 5A6. This presentation will be held in English
Day 1: Tuesday December 3 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM local time
Day 2: Wednesday December 4 from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM local time
Toronto: Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel – 123 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2M9. This presentation will be held in English
Day 1: Tuesday December 10 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM local time
Day 2: Wednesday December 11 from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM local time
Montreal: Édifice Dominique-Ducharme – 105 rue McGill, Montréal, QC H2Y 2E7. This presentation will be held in French
Thursday December 12 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM local time
Bisphenol A (BPA) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are both used in industrial processing to create various products that Canadians use regularly. BPA is used in the production of some food and drink containers, food packaging, thermal printing paper, as well as consumer products such as some toys or medical devices. PFAS are used in the production of some textiles, carpets, hoses, cables, cookware and personal care products.
BPA and PFAS continue to be studied to determine their effects on human health. Key areas of interest include BPA’s possible links to obesity and other metabolic disorders, while PFAS may be linked to thyroid effects in children and youth.
It is important to monitor these and other environmental chemicals to determine if government, industrial or individual actions are having an impact to reduce these chemicals in our environment. Monitoring chemicals in biological fluids or tissues is known as biomonitoring.
Health Canada’s Food Directorate is proposing modifications to the parabens’ food uses with the objective of ensuring that these uses are up to date and reflective of actual uses in foods sold in Canada. Consequently, Health Canada intends to revise the food categories and maximum levels of use for methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (methyl paraben), propyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (propyl paraben), and their sodium salts (sodium salt of methyl-p-hydroxybenzoic acid and sodium salt of propyl-p-hydroxybenzoic acid) in Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives as described in the information document.
Canadian Provincial News
A toolkit is available to help workplaces prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and control exposure to respiratory hazards. The toolkit contains links to resources, information and communications materials. It was developed for the Healthy Workers in Healthy Workplaces blitz that runs until December 27, 2019. Download the toolkit from your health and safety association.
O.Reg 455/09 amendment as follows:
(2) Section 12 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsection:
(9) On and after January 1, 2020, this section does not apply in respect of acetone.
2. Section 25 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsection:
(1.1) Section 10 of the Act does not apply in respect of a toxic substance reduction plan for acetone.
The process to appeal a WorkSafeNB decision is changing. Starting January 1, WorkSafeNB’s Decision Review Office (previously known as the Issues Resolutions Office) must review every decision when requested before an appeal can be filed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal (WCAT).
US News
EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program is announcing a 45-day public comment period beginning November 8, 2019, on the Systematic Review Protocol for five PFAS IRIS Assessments (i.e., PFBA, PFHxA, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFDA). Comments should be submitted to Docket ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2019-0275 on Regulations.gov. For more information on this document and the public comment period, please visit the Federal Register and the EPA IRIS website.
International News
As part of ECHA, the Management Board provides strategic direction and strong governance to help the Agency operate and meet its legal mandates as well as stakeholder expectations. In 2019, which is the first year of ECHA’s five-year strategy (2019-2023), we have been working to ensure that the Agency is implementing the agreed strategic priorities.
ECHA is looking for comments on 19 applications for authorisation covering 30 uses of:
· 4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol, ethoxylated (EC-, CAS-); and
· 4-nonylphenol, branched and linear, ethoxylated (EC-, CAS-).
The substances are used in the production of various medical devices (e.g. in vitro diagnostic kits and reagents) and medicinal, biopharmaceuticals and laboratory products (e.g. active pharmaceutical ingredients); also used in the manufacture of interlayer polymer films for laminated safety glass.
Among the newly added substances are a group of highly debated chemicals called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFAS for short, which are used in a wide variety of products such as cooking pans, food packaging, dental floss and water-resistant clothes. Currently there are several thousand different PFAS in use all over the world.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is pleased to announce the Monographs Meeting Volume 128: Acrolein, Arecoline, and Some Related Compounds, which will take place at IARC in Lyon, France, on 3–10 November 2020.
How does an organization value the dependencies it has on the environment? There’s a lot of information on what makes smarter sustainable strategies, but very little data. Now a new ISO standard provides the answers.
Other Relevant Information
Safety Share
From Sept. 15-21, 2019, inspectors conducted 34,320 commercial motor vehicle inspections as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week and placed 4,626 vehicles out of service after critical brake-related conditions were identified during roadside inspections. The majority of commercial motor vehicles inspected (86.5%) did not have any critical brake-related inspection item violations.
November 18, 2019 — More than three times as many home cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving Day as on a typical day of the year. That’s according to the latest U.S. Home Cooking Fires report recently released by the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA), which shows that there were 1,600 reported home cooking fires on Thanksgiving in 2017, reflecting a 238 percent increase over the daily average. Unattended cooking was the leading cause of these fires.
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