Implementation guidelines for Environmental Emergency Regulations: appendix 3

Appendix 3: Schedule 1 of the Environmental Emergency Regulations

List of substances

Background

During the development of the 2003 version of the Environmental Emergency Regulations (E2 regulations), the list of hazardous chemicals developed by the Conseil pour la réduction des accidents industriels majeurs (CRAIM) was selected as the best starting point for the Regulations. CRAIM had prepared a list of toxic and hazardous substances based on different sources, such as MIACC’s List 1 and List 2, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Program (RMP) list. Some of the nomenclature used in the original CRAIM list was modified to match those names most commonly used, as listed under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 (TDGA). The TDGA list was not adopted in its entirety for the regulations: its threshold quantities were intended to capture smaller quantities of transported substances that were considered too small to capture at the storage and chemical facilities covered by the E2 regulations.

At the time of the publication of the original E2 regulations in 2003, a total of 16 substances declared toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) were included in Schedule 1 of the regulations. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) made a commitment to stakeholders to evaluate 49 CEPA substances before publishing amendments to the E2 regulations. Some of these CEPA substances are “classes of substances” that include several sub-compounds; consequently, a total of 94 substances were evaluated for possible inclusion in Schedule 1 of the E2 regulations.

Based on the results of the evaluation of these substances, 30 substances and classes of substances and their respective thresholds are being added to Schedule 1 of the 2011 version of the E2 regulations. Further, the regulated community requested that three substances of concern (acetic acid, ammonium nitrate and styrene) be evaluated for possible addition to Schedule 1 of the E2 regulations. ECCC completed its evaluation and is adding these three substances to Schedule 1. Therefore, a total of 41 substances (33 substances and classes of substances representing different forms of the core 33 substances) and their respective thresholds have been added to Schedule 1 of the E2 regulations.

ECCC has developed a rationale for the inclusion of the original 174 substances listed in Schedule 1 of the E2 regulations. The justification for the specified threshold quantities is found in Rationale for the Development of a List of Regulated Substances under CEPA Section 200 and their Threshold Quantities.

The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry numbers^{Footnote 7} are the main identifier for the regulated substances found in the E2 regulations. The use of these numbers, as well as the classification of the regulated substances according to their physical properties, was necessary for greater public understanding and clear communication. The United Nations identification numbers (UN numbers) have been removed from the E2 regulations; however, they will remain referenced in Appendix 3 of the implementation guidelines. Periodic review and re-evaluation of the regulated list will be undertaken by ECCC for a continuous enhancement of the protection of the environment and human health.

Schedule 1 of the regulations (Section 2, subsections 3(1), (2) and (5), 4(1) and 7(1))