Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and your health 

Learn about PFAS, their health risks and how to reduce your exposure.

On this page

• About PFAS
• PFAS and your health
• What we're doing to reduce your exposure to PFAS
• What you can do to reduce your exposure to PFAS

About PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of human-made chemicals that are used as surfactants, lubricants and repellents for dirt, water and grease in a wide range of products. Examples of products they're used in include:

• fire-fighting foams
• food packaging materials
• drugs
  • including natural health products and non-prescription drugs
• medical devices
• cosmetics
• pesticides
• textiles
  • carpets, furniture and clothing
• vehicles
• electronics
• paints, coatings and building materials
• cleaning products, waxes and polishes

PFAS are in certain foams used by firefighters to extinguish liquid fuel fires. They're distinct from flame retardants, which work to prevent items from catching on fire.

PFAS don't break down easily and they stay in the environment for long periods of time. They make their way into our environments from many sources, including from industrial processes and from the products we use, like certain cosmetics, furniture and electronics. As a result, we're also exposed to PFAS in:

• drinking water
• indoor and outdoor air
• house dust
• food

PFAS and your health

Because PFAS are widely used and stay in the environment, we're exposed to multiple PFAS every day.

PFAS may affect:

• the liver, kidney and thyroid
• bodyweight and metabolism
• the immune and nervous systems
• development and the reproductive system

What we're doing to reduce your exposure to PFAS

Under Canada's Chemicals Management Plan, we review and manage the potential risks that chemical substances can pose to people in Canada and the environment.

We've assessed information available to date on PFAS and have confirmed that these substances are potentially harmful to both human health and the environment.

A group of PFAS chemicals called fluoropolymers were not included in this assessment. These compounds will be considered in a separate assessment.

To help reduce exposures to PFAS we're considering:

• adding the class of PFAS (that is, the group of PFAS substances as a whole), excluding fluoropolymers, to the list of toxic substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
  • this would allow Canada to implement preventive or control actions for the life cycle of the chemicals, including:
    • research and development
    • manufacture and import
    • sale
    • use
    • storage
    • transport
    • disposal or recycling
• implementing a phased prohibition of the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers:
  • Phase 1 (short-term): prohibition of PFAS that are not currently regulated in firefighting foams
  • Phase 2 (medium-term): prohibition of PFAS that are not needed for the protection of health or safety, such as those used in products available to consumers
  • Phase 3 (longer-term): prohibition of uses of PFAS that require further evaluation and for which there may not be a suitable alternative

At each phase, exemptions will be considered when necessary.

We're also considering additional voluntary actions, such as:

• helping consumers and importers identify products containing PFAS by improving the information that's disclosed (on labelling, for example)
• encouraging and helping industries to voluntarily phase out PFAS

You may provide comments during the 60-day public comment period on our risk management approach.

With some exemptions, we've already prohibited the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of the following PFAS:

• perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and precursors
• perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), its salts and precursors
• long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs), their salts and precursors

We're also proposing to remove or put a time limit on existing exemptions for these substances.

We've developed and published guidelines and screening values to protect people in Canada from exposure to PFAS through soil and groundwater. Guidelines and screening values identify levels of exposure at or below which no health effects are expected. These include:

• soil and groundwater quality guidelines for PFOS
• soil screening values for other PFAS

We've published a drinking water objective that recommends a single treatment-based value for a group of 25 PFAS in Canadian drinking water. Our goal is to reduce potential exposure to PFAS through drinking water while we finish reassessing the guidelines and screening values.

We've worked with provinces, municipalities and the biosolids industry to implement an interim standard for PFAS in biosolids. Biosolids are imported and sold in Canada as commercial fertilizers and are used by agricultural producers. The proposed limit will control contamination levels in foods and the environment.

We continue to:

• collect and examine information on PFAS
• review what other countries are doing about PFAS
• assess new PFAS for potential risks to human health and the environment
• conduct regular monitoring and surveillance of certain PFAS, both in humans and the environment
• update guidelines and screening values to protect people in Canada from exposure to PFAS in our environment

We continue to work to reduce risks from known federal contaminated sites through the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan, including sites contaminated with PFAS. We're actively seeking innovative solutions to destroy PFAS compounds in contaminated water, soil and biosolids.

We also continue to work with international partners to lower the amount of PFAS that enters the environment. For example, Canada nominated LC-PFCAs to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2021. The convention is a global treaty that requires countries to control and reduce listed POPs across a range of industries and products. PFOS, PFOA and perfluorohexanesulphonic acid (PFHxS) have already been listed in the convention.

What you can do to reduce your exposure to PFAS

You can take steps to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals:

• Read product labels and follow all safety warnings and directions. Labels on cosmetics, natural health products and non-prescription drugs must list all ingredients and instructions for use.
• Look for ingredient names for PFAS such as ‘perfluoro'.
• Follow the manufacturer's directions to use and dispose of products safely.

Most products available to consumers are not required to list ingredients on the label.

If you have questions or concerns about products you use in your home, and whether they contain PFAS, contact the manufacturer.

You should also follow local advisories. For example:

• If your drinking water is contaminated above levels specified for Canadian drinking water quality, follow the advice of your local drinking water authority, public health authority or provincial or territorial government on treating the water or using another source. 
• If you live, fish or hunt near a contaminated site, check with local or provincial or territorial health and environment departments for fish or hunting advisories in your area.

If you're exposed to PFAS at work, talk to your employer and occupational health and safety (OHS) official about:

• relevant laws
• safe handling and storage practices
• requirements under OHS legislation and the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

Related links

• Toxic substances list
• Use household chemicals safely
• Action plan for contaminated sites
• Measuring your exposure to chemicals
• Overview of the Chemicals Management Plan
• Human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals
• Canada's system for addressing chemical substances
• Tips to protect your family from chemicals and pollutants
• Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
• Guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality – Summary tables
• Flame retardants

For more information on PFAS

• What are PFAS
• OECD portal on risk management, risk reduction and sustainable chemistry
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Canadians
• State of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) report
• Water talk: Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water
• Long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs), their salts and precursors
• Objective for Canadian drinking water quality- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
• Canadian soil and groundwater quality guidelines for the protection of environmental and human Health – perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (PDF)

For industry and professionals

• Risk assessment of chemical substances
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – information sheet
• Canada Gazette, Part 1, Volume 156, Number 20: Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2022
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) standard for commercial biosolids imported or sold in Canada as fertilizers