Canada Consults on Prohibition of Certain Coal Tar Sealants

By Fatemeh Bamdad, Senior Regulatory Specialist, Supply Chain Insights, UL Solutions

On Nov. 18, 2023, the proposed regulation entitled “Certain Products Containing Toxic Substances Regulations” was published in the Canada Gazette Part I.

The proposal regulates the Coal tar-based sealant products and their possible replacement products that contain high levels of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Coal tars and their distillates were proposed to be added to Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999) in June 2021. However, a risk management measure was required to regulate their replacement products that contain higher than 1000 ppm of PAHs, which are also deemed toxic and listed under Schedule 1 to CEPA.

The proposed regulation also would repeal and amalgamate the 2-Butoxyethanol Regulation, established in 2006, which applies to the products that contain 2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE) and are used in indoor settings.

The proposal would regulate the products that belong to any of the following categories:

*For a complete list of regulated products and the associated concentration limits refer to the full text of the proposed regulation

Under the proposed regulation, the manufacture and import of the covered sealant products are prohibited from Jan. 1 2025. It also restricts the sale and offer of sale of the regulated products from June 30, 2025, unless a permit is granted for the importation of the product.

A 3-year temporary exemption was provided for the sale and offer of sale of the Coal tar-based sealants for industrial use on metal, steel or concrete components or pipelines and other buried services until Jan. 1, 2028. This is to allow for inventory cleaning.

The proposal is open for comments until Jan. 27, 2024. Interested parties are encouraged to share their comments on the proposed regulations or file a notice of objection through the online commenting feature or by mail.

*Note: The reader is strongly encouraged to read the full text of the proposed regulations for complete details. Additional information about CEPA and 2-BE Regulations can be found on the Government of Canada’s web pages.

Reference

Certain Products Containing Toxic Substances Regulations, Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 157, No. 46, November 18, 2023.