After many years of delay, the Canadian government recently announced that it will enact a comprehensive ban on asbestos and asbestos-containing products by 2018. The country’s long history of asbestos mining had ended when its two last asbestos mines closed in 2011. However, asbestos itself and its use in products was not banned, despite years of pressure from health advocates for the group of carcinogenic minerals to be outlawed.

Citing the need to protect the health and safety of Canadians, the government said it is developing new regulations that will ban the manufacture, use, import and export of asbestos under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CETA). Also planned are new federal workplace health and safety rules to drastically limit the risk of exposure to asbestos. In addition, an existing list of asbestos-containing buildings that are federally owned or leased will be expanded, and national, provincial and territorial building codes will be updated to prohibit the use of asbestos in new construction and renovation projects.

In April, the federal government took another step when it updated its international position on the listing of asbestos as a hazardous material and supported the listing of chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention.

“By supporting the listing of chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention, Canada is taking a concrete step to promote responsible management of this harmful substance globally,” said Catherine McKenna, minister of environment and climate change. “In Canada, we will also put in place regulatory measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians as we move forward toward a ban on asbestos.”

Now a consultation document has been published that outlines the proposed regulatory approach and solicits stakeholders’ views on the proposed measures.  The document asks for comments within 45 days of its publication. Following that, proposed regulations will be published by December 2017 and final regulations in the fall of 2018.

The proposed regulations would target asbestos, defined as any fibrous form of mineral silicates belonging to the serpentine or amphibole groups of rock-forming minerals including actinolite asbestos; amosite; anthophyllite asbestos; chrysotile; crocidolite; and tremolite asbestos. New stand-alone regulations under section 93 CEPA would prohibit the import, use, sale and offer for sale of asbestos, as well as the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale and import of products containing asbestos. The export of all types of asbestos and products containing asbestos would also be prohibited.

The consultation document can be viewed on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s website.

The challenges of defining and managing chemicals in today’s interconnected global environment are more difficult than ever before. Despite the publication of the TSCA (Toxic Chemical Substances Act) regulation in the United States, the recent political changes are casting doubt on how or what will be changed, despite the pressing need for change.

Regardless of what is happening in the US concerning chemical regulations, the European Commission (EC) has been intent on removing and reducing toxic substances from industrial products that are manufactured in and imported into Europe. To this end, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) was formed to draft and manage a new regulation for monitoring this process: REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).

REACH establishes procedures for collecting and assessing information on chemical substance hazards and risks

It requires companies to register the substances they manufacture in, or import into, Europe above one tonne a year. The goal is to gather information on chemicals within the European Union (EU) in order to manage chemical risks in a meaningful way, as well as to promote the gradual substitution of the most toxic substances.

What makes the regulation different from most is that REACH is not a voluntary standard. It places the burden of proof on industry to demonstrate that a substance is safe.

Rather than acting as a watchdog and demonstrating that a substance is unsafe, ECHA is evaluating the chemical data that the manufacturer provides. As a result, there is now a much better understanding of chemical substances, with the most dangerous substances being replaced with safer alternatives.

One of the greatest hurdles REACH is addressing is the cost to comply. It is not only expensive to reconfigure a product or substitute a less toxic substance, it is also expensive and time-consuming to provide the information to REACH. Historically, businesses have been more focused on profits than product safety so any additional cost that impacts their bottom line is met with resistance.

The REACH regulation and the challenges and issues surrounding chemicals management will be addressed at the upcoming Helsinki Chemicals Forum (HCF), the leading international discussion forum for chemicals safety and sound chemicals management.

HCF not only provides a forum to examine the REACH standard within Europe, but also how it fits within the global community of new standards that many countries are implementing to better manage chemical safety and reduce exposure to toxic substances.

HCF 2017 will be held from 8-9 June, 2017 at the Messukeskus Helsinki Convention Centre in Helsinki, Finland. The two-day event addresses opportunities and challenges for chemicals regulation, with panels covering the United Nation’s 2020 goals on chemicals management, sustainable development, chemical assessments, chemical risk and much more. An international collection of speakers from regulatory bodies, industry associations and NGOs will provide insights, with speakers from ECHA, the US EPA, Environment Canada, CEFIC, OECD and many more.

For more information about HCF, visit http://www.helsinkicf.eu.