A release from Health Canada that we have been eagerly awaiting:

The Government of Canada today introduced proposed legislation that will modernize and strengthen product safety laws by overhauling existing rules to further protect the health and safety of Canadians.

The proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act will provide better oversight of consumer products in Canada by improving the government’s ability to take timely compliance and enforcement actions when unsafe products are identified. It will also encourage compliance through higher fines and increased penalties for violators…

The proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act will work to prevent problems from occurring, target the highest risk products, and respond to problems more rapidly and effectively. It will prohibit the manufacture, importation, advertisement or sale of consumer products that pose an unreasonable danger to human health or safety. It will also require mandatory reporting by suppliers of serious product-related incidents, including those where injury may have been averted, or defects that could cause serious injury or illness…

The Government of Canada will continue with product safety initiatives by introducing proposed new regulations, including those on lead and phthalates in consumer products, together with industry and other stakeholders.

Click on the above link for more information.  We will be watching this one closely.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, CCCR Consumer Label Reviews, WHMIS MSDS Authoring.

A Notice from Health Canada:

Health Canada officials will provide a technical briefing to the media via teleconference regarding the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act introduced earlier today. The technical briefing is not for attribution.

A PowerPoint presentation for the technical briefing is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/TechnicalBriefingDeck_ENG.ppt.

Date

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Time

1:30 p.m. EST

Location

Members of the media may participate via teleconference.

Dial-in number: 1-888-265-0464 or

(613) 954-4096

Conference ID Number: 83223070

Media Enquiries:

Health Canada

(613) 957-2983

Click on the above link for more information.

A report from the Globe and Mail:

Health Canada and Environment Canada are recommending adding a former chemical warfare agent, diethyl sulphate, to the country’s list of toxic substances.

Although the substance isn’t a household name, it can be used to make fabric softeners or flocculants in wastewater and sewage sludge control, and in the production of pharmaceuticals, fragrances and dyes…

The government also decided to conduct more study on butane, a substance often used in hair sprays and deodorants.

The chemical program led to last year’s decision to place bisphenol A on the country’s toxic substances list, a move that made Canada the first country in the world to take action against the hormone-mimicking chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and the resins lining the insides of tin cans…

Federal scientists reviewed 18 potentially harmful substances, according to the Gazette, and proposed that only diethyl sulphate warranted a toxic designation, a step that allows the government to pass regulations to control and reduce its use.

But it did flag butane and isobutane for further assessment. Both chemicals have been classified as carcinogens by the European Commission when they contain another chemical, butadiene, as an impurity in concentrations of more than 0.1 per cent.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, CCCR Consumer Label Reviews, WHMIS MSDS Authoring.

CNN on regulatory changes that are being lobbied for:

We’ve reached out to advocacy groups to see what they thought were some of the most pressing issues or policy changes this new administration must tackle…

Fund the Consumer Product Safety Commission so it can enforce the new product-safety act. This act improves and expands standards and safety for children’s products.

Fix the food-safety system. The government should be able to trace a product from start to finish. Right now, tracing a product’s path is a stumbling block for the government, according to Butler.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

A new Ohio law gives further reasons for chemical manufacturers and distributors to make sure their MSDSs are up-to-date:

Sanitarians with health departments across the state inspected every school in spring 2008 and made notes about improvements schools need to make to be in compliance with Jarod’s Law.

Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department Sanitarian Adam Dickerson said Jarod’s Law is named after Jarod Bennett, a 5-year-old who was crushed and killed in 2005 by a cafeteria table at his school in Lebanon City Schools. The table had been recalled…

New requirements such as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), labeling every chemical in each room, and hand/eye wash station signs above sinks and keeping chemicals out of reach of students, unless being used in front of a teacher as part of class instruction, were common observations made by sanitarians.

An MSDS sheet lists every chemical in each individual classroom, where it’s found and what to do if a student gets a chemical in their eyes or if one spills.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

From Eco Child’s Play:

The General Accountability Office (GAO) adds the EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), to its 2009 High Risk list, saying that the EPA “lacks adequate scientific information on the toxicity of many chemicals that may be found in the environment”.

The GAO recommends that the Obama administration place a high priority on upgrading the policies for assessment and control of toxic chemicals.

“EPA’s inadequate progress in assessing toxic chemicals significantly limits the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment.” – GAO

From the GAO High Risk report:

…The EPA’s ability to protect public health and the environment depends on credible and timely assessments of the risks posed by toxic chemicals. Its Integrated Risk Information System, which contains assessments of more than 500 toxic chemicals, is at serious risk of becoming obsolete because EPA has been unable to keep its existing assessments current or to complete assessments of important chemicals of concern. Overall, EPA has finished only nine assessments in the past three years; at the end of 2007, most of the 70 ongoing assessments had been underway for more than five years. EPA urgently needs to streamline and increase the transparency of this assessment process…

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

From the Environmental Working Group:

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued the first national guidelines establishing safe levels for perfluorinated chemicals used to make nonstick and stain-resistant materials in the nation’s drinking water…

Environmentalists criticized the “provisional health advisory” setting the acceptable level of short-term exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at 0.4 parts per billion. They noted that Lisa P. Jackson, who headed New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection and has been nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to take over the EPA, set a chronic exposure standard of 0.04 ppb in 2007 while heading the state agency.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: OSHA MSDS Authoring, CPSC Consumer Label Reviews, Nexreg.

An important notice from the CPSC:

In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.

Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.

The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products.

Click on the above link for more information.

From the EPA -  EPA Encourages the Use of Chemicals with a Smaller Environmental Impact:

EPA is issuing a final rule that encourages the use of solvents that don’t significantly contribute to ground-level ozone. Two chemicals used in solvents, propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate, no longer need to be regulated as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under the Clean Air Act.  Extensive scientific reviews indicate these chemicals have little or no effect on forming smog or ground-level ozone. By excluding these chemicals, states will be able to focus on controlling other emissions that more significantly contribute to ozone.

Areas with ozone air pollution levels that exceed national ambient air quality standards must develop state implementation plans that include strategies for reducing ground-level ozone. These plans may include VOC emission limits.

Exposure to ground-level ozone can cause serious respiratory illness including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. Ground-level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue.

Click on the above link for more information.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, REACH Compliance, EU SDS Authoring.

An annoucement from the EU:

The European Parliament has voted in favour of tightening regulations governing the use of pesticides. MEPs approved two laws that will ban the most dangerous, cancer-causing pesticides throughout the European Union. The new laws will phase out the use of 22 extremely toxic compounds over the coming 10 years. Farmers will have to find an alternative for less toxic substances within five years. The new regulations still have to be approved by the 27 EU governments.

EU lawmakers also banned a number of substances deemed harmful to honeybees in an attempt to reverse the recent dramatic reductions in bee populations throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Many scientists say increased pesticide use is a major factor in the decline of bee populations. Bees are essential for pollination and according to one environmental action group, honeybees are responsible for the pollination of around 80 million tons of food produced in the European Union.

For more information, click on the above link.

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: Nexreg, REACH Compliance, EU SDS Authoring.