Vol. 144, No. 9 — February 27, 2010

Order Amending Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (Surface Coating Materials)

Statutory authority

Hazardous Products Act

Sponsoring department

Department of Health

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issue and objectives

The Hazardous Products Act (HPA) prohibits or restricts the advertisement, sale and importation of products which are, or are likely to be, a danger to the health or safety of the public. Under the Surface Coating Materials Regulations, in effect since April 19, 2005, Health Canada set a 600 mg/kg total lead limit for surface coating materials, including paints or other similar materials that dry to a solid film when a layer of it is applied to a surface, but not including materials that become a part of the substrate. Health Canada also prohibits, under Part I of Schedule I to the HPA, children’s toys (paragraph 9(b)), furniture and other articles for children other than toys (item 2) as well as pencils and artists’ brushes (item 18) that have a surface coating material applied to them that contains more than 600 mg/kg total lead.

Excessive levels of lead can cause many severe health effects in young children ranging from kidney damage to impaired intellectual and behavioural development. Reducing lead in children’s products is a very important issue around the world.

Effective August 14, 2009, in the United States, the total lead limit set out in 16 C.F.R. 1303, Ban of Lead-Containing Paint and Certain Consumer Products Bearing Lead-Containing Paint, was reduced from 600 mg/kg to 90 mg/kg in accordance with paragraph 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 (www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf). This applies to paints and similar surface coating materials for consumer use, as well as toys and other articles intended for use by children and furniture articles for consumer use that have a surface coating material applied to them.

The purpose of this proposal is to align Canada with the United States in respect of total lead levels in surface coating materials and certain products with surface coating materials applied to them by

• lowering the total lead limit in surface coating materials from 600 mg/kg to 90 mg/kg under subsections 4(1) and 5(1) and section 8 of the Surface Coatings Materials Regulations; and
• lowering the total lead limit from 600 mg/kg to 90 mg/kg in surface coating materials applied to furniture and other articles for children (item 2), toys, equipment and other products for use by a child in learning or play (paragraph 9(b)) and pencils and artists’ brushes (item 18) under Part I of Schedule I to the HPA.

The following administrative amendments are also proposed:

• renumbering paragraph 9(b) of Part I of Schedule I to the HPA as paragraph 9(a); and
• rewording item 2, paragraph 9(a) and item 18 of Part I of Schedule I to the HPA as required to ensure consistency.

Description and rationale

Lead is an inexpensive, soft, heavy metal that can be used in surface coating materials to reduce drying time and increase durability. Lead can also be used in certain pigments. However, exposure to lead may be harmful to health, particularly in children. Lead can enter the body through the digestive system or the lungs. It accumulates in the body and can damage the nervous system, the kidneys, and the blood-forming and reproductive systems. Lead has also been shown to cause intellectual and behavioural deficits in children.

The current 600 mg/kg total lead limit for surface coating materials under the Surface Coating Materials Regulations and various products to which surface coating materials have been applied under item 2, paragraph 9(b) and item 18 of Part I of Schedule I to the HPA is based on a 1972 toxicological assessment by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health, which was affirmed by the National Academy of Sciences in 1973 (see http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/49/6/ 918). This limit was voluntarily adopted by the Canadian Paint and Coatings Association (CPCA) in 1991 for all Canadian produced consumer paints. It also aligned with the total lead limit effective between September 1, 1977, and August 14, 2009, in the United States under 16 C.F.R. 1303.

A recalculation of the 1972 toxicological assessment for lead by Health Canada in 2008 using current information showed that reducing the total lead limit in surface coating materials to less than 113 mg/kg would result in a daily lead intake by a child that is below the tolerable daily intake (TDI) value for lead currently established by the World Health Organization and endorsed by Health Canada. Therefore, the 90 mg/kg total lead limit for surface coating materials recently adopted in the United States and proposed for adoption in Canada is considered to provide adequate protection to children from lead exposure through ingestion of surface coating materials. Aligning the total lead limit for surface coating materials in Canada and the United States will also ensure that Canadian children have the same level of protection from lead exposure as children in the United States.

Based on the results of Health Canada surveys (see Table 1) and information received from industry associations affected by this proposal, the cost impact of reducing the total lead limit in surface coating materials to 90 mg/kg would be low to negligible. Members of the CPCA, representing almost 90% of Canadian paint sales, are already compliant with the 90 mg/kg total lead limit, so this proposal would not introduce any new costs for the surface coating materials industry. Compliance is lower (see footnote 1) overall, for the other products subject to this proposed lower total lead limit, but varies between product categories. Given the relatively small percentage of these products that are non-compliant with the current total lead limit of 600 mg/kg but not with the proposed total lead limit of 90 mg/kg, it is estimated that the cost impact of this proposal on the affected industries would be low.

Table 1. Health Canada surveys of total lead levels in surface coating materials and products with applied surface coating materials

Year	Product	Total Lead Level (mg/kg)*
		≤ 90	> 90 but ≤ 600	> 600
1988–1989	paints and other surface coating materials	61%	10%	29%
2005–2006	paints and other surface coating materials	98.6%	--	1.4%
2005–2006	pencils and artists’ brushes (item 18)	85.9%	6.3%	7.8%
2007–2008	children’s furniture and other articles (item 2)	75.9%	3.4%	20.7%
2007–2008	children’s toys (paragraph 9(b))	92.9%	2.4%	4.7%
2008–2009	children’s toys (paragraph 9(b))	85.1%	7.4%	7.4%

* Results are expressed as the percentage of the products sampled.

Aligning Canadian and American total lead limits is important for both the public and industry. It will allow a consistent lead level which all industry members in the United States and Canada can follow, simplifying trade between countries. Amending the Canadian requirements will support the government’s commitment to the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan and the Lead Risk Reduction Strategy for Consumer Products.

Consultation

In January 2009, a consultation letter outlining the proposed amendments to the Surface Coating Materials Regulations and to item 2, paragraph 9(b) and item 18 of Part I of Schedule I to the HPA was sent to six associations representing the following industries: paints and other surface coating materials, children’s toys, furniture and other articles for children other than toys, as well as pencils and artists’ brushes.

Responses were received from five of the six associations that were consulted. All five associations indicated their support of the proposed amendments.

One association asked Health Canada not to set out requirements for certificates of conformity, which are mandatory in the United States under the CPSIA. Health Canada has confirmed that certification requirements are not included under the current proposal, nor are they included under Bill C-6, the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) that would replace Part I of the HPA.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Compliance and enforcement of the proposed amendments will follow established departmental policy and procedures. Health Canada’s Cyclical Enforcement (CE) policy for consumer products which are regulated under the HPA requires planned monitoring and enforcement surveys of all affected products at regular intervals. Inspectors across the country visit a wide range of retail and distributor outlets, examine product lines, and sample those which are suspected of non-compliance with the requirements of the HPA and Regulations. The samples are tested according to publicly available test methods used by Health Canada’s Product Safety Laboratory. The frequency of CE surveys is based on the degree of risk and hazard associated with the affected products.

Health Canada also carries out ad hoc sampling and testing of regulated products, follows up on recalls and reports from other agencies and on both consumer and industry complaints. Depending on the seriousness of the violation, action taken concerning non-compliant products will range from voluntary withdrawal of these products from the market to prosecution under the HPA.

The enforcement of these amendments will not require any additional funding, resources, staff or training.

Contact

Chad Tibbo
Project Officer
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
Consumer Product Safety Directorate
Chemistry and Flammability Division
Health Canada
123 Slater Street
Address Locator 3504D
MacDonald Building, 4th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9
Fax: 613-952-9138
Email: chad_tibbo@hc-sc.gc.ca

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 6 (see footnote a) of the Hazardous Products Act (see footnote b), proposes to make the annexed Order Amending Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (Surface Coating Materials).

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Order within 75 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Chad Tibbo, Project Officer, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Consumer Product Safety Directorate, Chemistry and Flammability Division, Health Canada, 123 Slater Street, Postal Locator 3504D, MacDonald Building, 4th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9 (fax: 613-952-9138; e-mail: chad_ tibbo@hc-sc.gc.ca).

Ottawa, February 23, 2010

JURICA ČAPKUN
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

ORDER AMENDING SCHEDULE I TO THE HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS ACT (SURFACE COATING MATERIALS)

AMENDMENTS

1. Item 2 of Part I of Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (see footnote 2) is replaced by the following:

2. Furniture and other articles for children that have a surface coating material that contains more than 90 mg/kg of total lead.

2. The portion of item 9 of Part I of Schedule I to the Act before paragraph (c) is replaced by the following:

9. Toys, equipment and other products for use by a child in learning or play that have a surface coating material that contains any of the following substances:

(a) lead, the total content of which is more than 90 mg/kg;

3. Item 18 of Part I of Schedule I to the Act is replaced by the following:

18. Pencils and artists’ brushes that have a surface coating material that contains more than 90 mg/kg of total lead.

COMING INTO FORCE

4. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

[9-1-o]

Footnote 1
The difference in compliance between surface coating materials and children’s toys, furniture and other articles for children other than toys, as well as pencils and artists’ brushes that have a surface coating material applied to them may, at least in part, be explained by the finding that most surface coating materials sold in Canada are also manufactured in Canada according to the requirements set out under the Surface Coating Materials Regulations. Most children’s toys, furniture and other articles for children other than toys as well as pencils and artists’ brushes are imported from overseas, where Canadian requirements are not always applied.

Footnote 2
R.S., c. H-3

Footnote a
S.C. 1996, c. 8, s. 26

Footnote b
R.S., c. H-3

NOTICE:
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