Chemical name:

Final regulatory action has been taken for the category: Industrial

Final regulatory action: The chemical is Severely Restricted

Use or uses prohibited by the final regulatory action:

The Regulations prohibit the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of PFOS, its salts, its precursors or a product containing any such substance unless the substance is incidentally present.

Use or uses that remain allowed:

The Regulations do not apply to PFOS, its salts and its precursors that are:

(a)contained in a hazardous waste, hazardous recyclable material or non-hazardous waste to which Division 8 of Part 7 of CEPA 1999 applies;

(b)contained in a pest control product within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Pest Control Products Act;

(c)present as a contaminant in a chemical feedstock used in a process from which there are no releases of the substance and provided that, in that process, the substance is destroyed or completely converted to a substance other than one referred to in the section 1 of the Regulations; or

(d)used in a laboratory for analysis, in scientific research or as a laboratory analytical standard.

The manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, or import of the following products containing PFOS, its salts or its precursors is permitted:

(a)photoresists or anti-reflective coatings for photolithography processes; and

(b)photographic films, papers and printing plates.

The use, sale, offer for sale or import of aviation hydraulic fluid containing PFOS, its salts or its precursors is permitted.

The use of PFOS, its salts or its precursors, or a product containing any such substance, as a fume suppressant in the following processes, as well as their sale, offer for sale or import for that use, is permitted until May 29, 2013:

(a)chromium electroplating, chromium anodizing and reverse etching;

(b)electroless nickel-polyterafluoroethylene plating; and

(c)etching of plastic substrates prior to their metalization.

The use, sale or offer for sale of a manufactured item containing PFOS, its salts or its precursors is permitted if manufactured or imported before May 29, 2008.

The use of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) containing PFOS, its salts or its precursors is permitted:

(a)at any time, if the concentration of the substance is less than or equal to 0.5 ppm; or

(b)until May 29, 2013, other than for testing or training purposes, if the concentration of the substance is greater than 0.5 ppm and the foam was manufactured or imported before May 29, 2008.

AFFF containing PFOS, its salts or its precursors may be:

(a)used in a military vessel deployed, before May 29, 2008 or within five years after that day, for a military operation; or

used or imported in a military vessel or military fire fighting vehicle contaminated during a foreign military operation occurring after May 29, 2008.

The final regulatory action was based on a risk or hazard evaluation: Yes

Summary of the final regulatory action:

The Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and its Salts and Certain Other Compounds Regulations are under subsection 93(1) and section 319 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).

PFOS, its salts and its precursors are listed in the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999.

The manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of PFOS, its salts and its precursors is prohibited with some limited number of exemptions listed below.

The reasons for the final regulatory action were relevant to: Environment

Summary of known hazards and risks to the environment:

An ecological screening assessment was undertaken on perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), its salts and its precursors containing the perfluorooctylsulfonyl (C₈F₁₇SO₂, C₈F₁₇SO_3, or C₈F₁₇SO₂N ) moiety.

PFOS is resistant to hydrolysis, photolysis, microbial degradation, and metabolism by vertebrates. PFOS has been detected in fish, in wildlife worldwide and in the northern hemisphere. This includes Canadian wildlife located far from known sources or manufacturing facilities indicating that PFOS and/or its precursors may undergo long-range transport. Maximum concentrations in liver of biota in remote areas of the Canadian Arctic include: mink (20 µg.kg^-1), common loon (26 µg.kg^-1), ringed seal (37 µg.kg^-1), brook trout (50 µg.kg^-1), Arctic fox (1400 µg.kg^-1) and polar bear (4000 µg.kg^-1).

Unlike many other persistent organic pollutants, certain perfluorinated substances, such as PFOS, are present as ions in environmental media and partition preferentially to proteins in liver and blood rather than to lipids. Therefore, the bioaccumulation potential of PFOS may not be related to the typical mechanisms associated with bioaccumulation in lipid-rich tissues. Discretion is required when applying numeric criteria for bioaccumulation such as those outlined in the Government of Canada's Toxic Substances Management Policy (TSMP) and in the Persistence and Bioaccumulation Regulations under CEPA 1999 when determining whether substances such as PFOS are bioaccumulative. These numeric criteria were derived from bioaccumulation data for aquatic species and for substances which preferentially partition to lipids.

Expected effect of the final regulatory action in relation to the environment:

The prohibition on manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, or import of PFOS and its precursors will work towards the objective of virtual elimination of the substance. Therefore this regulatory action will also result in a reduction of risk for Canada's environment.

Date of entry into force of the final regulatory action: 29/05/2008