Chemistry Methods 

The following test methods are available from the Product Safety Laboratory by completing the Test Method Request Form:

Complete the Test Method Request Form

Note: Regulated parties are responsible for ensuring that their products are compliant with the applicable Act and Regulations. Health Canada's Product Safety Laboratory (PSL) test methods are not mandatory. It is the regulated parties' responsibility to ensure that their products are assessed according to the applicable requirements. PSL test methods are made available to assist industry in understanding how Health Canada assesses products for compliance with mandatory regulatory requirements. Only test methods or test parameters that are prescribed within the applicable Act and Regulations are mandatory methods that must be used by regulated parties. In cases where a specific test method or test parameters are not set out in the applicable Act or its Regulations, a regulated party may use the test procedures or equipment of their choice, ensuring that they are suitable for determining compliance with prescribed requirements.

The test method effective date referred to below is used for version control purposes only and indicates the most current edition of the method

• Determination of Total Lead in Surface Coating Materials in Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) (C02.2.1) Effective 2021-06-02
• Determination of Total Lead in Surface Coating Materials in Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.2.2) Effective 2020-01-23
• Determination of Total Lead and Cadmium in Plastic Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.3.1) Effective 2021-02-22
• Determination of Total Lead in Plastic Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.3.2) Effective 2021-02-22
• Determination of Total Lead and Cadmium in Metallic Consumer Products by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (C02.4) Effective 2022-07-15
• Determination of Total Lead and Cadmium in Metallic Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.4.1) Effective 2019-03-15
• Determination of Total Cadmium in Surface Coating Materials in Consumer Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) (C02.7) Effective 2020-05-05
• Determination of Total Metals in Cosmetic Samples by Closed-Vessel Microwave Digestion and ICP-MS Analysis (C05) Effective 2022-06-08
• Determination of Total Mercury in Surface Coating Materials, Applied Coatings, and Cosmetic Samples by Direct Mercury Analyzer Wide Range (DMA 80 WR) (C07) Effective 2023-07-19
• Determination of Migratable Arsenic (As), Barium (Ba), Cadmium (Cd), Antimony (Sb), and Selenium (Se) in Applied Surface Coating Materials by ICP-OES (C08.1) Effective 2022-10-18
• Determination of Leachable Lead in Kettles by ICP-MS (C09) Effective 2019-06-11
• Determination of Migratable Lead and Cadmium from Glazed Ceramics and Glassware by ICP-OES (C10.1) Effective 2024-01-04
• Determination of α-pinene, D-Limonene and α-terpineol in Consumer Products by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) (C11.1) Effective 2020-07-08
• Determination of Ethylene Glycol and Di-Ethylene Glycol in Consumer Products by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) (C11.2) Effective 2020-08-10
• Determination of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene Isomers (BTEX) in Consumer Products by Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (C11.4) Effective 2019-07-19
• Determination of the pH of Consumer and Workplace Products in Aqueous Solutions (C13) Effective 2020-07-07
• Determination of the pH of Cosmetics and Similar Consumer Products using the PC-Titrate Instrument (C13.1) Effective 2021-05-05
• Determination of Acid and Alkali Reserves of Consumer Products by Titration (C14.2) Effective 2020-06-29
• Determination of Tris (2,3-Dibromopropyl) Phosphate (TRIS) in Textiles and Similar Consumer Products by Gas-Chromatography Mass-Spectrometry (C19) Effective 2021-05-05
• Determination of the Flash Point of Fluids by the Closed Cup Test Method (C22) Effective 2024-03-28
• Determination of the Flash Point of Solids, Pastes or Gels by the Closed Cup Test Method (C22.1) Effective 2023-07-18
• Determination of the Flame Projection and Flashback of Consumer Products Enclosed in Pressurized Containers (C23) Effective 2021-05-13
• Determination of the Flame Projection and Flashback of Consumer Products Enclosed in Pump-Spray Containers (C23.1) Effective 2021-05-13
• Determination of the Flame Projection and Flashback of Cosmetic Products (C23.2) Effective 2021-05-13
• Determination of Volatile N-nitrosamines in Infant Feeding Bottles, Nipples, Pacifiers, and Other Similar Consumer Products, by GC-TEA (C24) Effective 2019-10-24
• Determination of Bulk Asbestos in Consumer Products and Cosmetics by Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) (C25) Effective 2019-03-20
• Detection and Identification of Various Asbestos Fibers in Consumer Products by FT-IR (C26) Effective 2019-03-12
• Automatic Determination of the Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and Opaque Liquids by miniAV Automatic Viscometer (C27) Effective 2021-04-22
• Determination of Leakage in Child Resistant Containers (C29) Effective 2021-06-09
• Determination of Boric Acid and Salts of Boric Acid in Toys by ICP-MS (C30) Effective 2019-12-13
• Determination of the Vapour Pressure of Petroleum Products by Minivap VP Instrument (C32) Effective 2020-07-07
• Determination of Phthalates in Polyvinyl Chloride Consumer Products by GC/CI-MS (C34) Effective 2018-07-19
• Determination of Phthalates in Polyvinyl Chloride Consumer Products by GC/EI-MS (C34.3) Effective 2023-06-05
• Identification of Unknown Polymers and Chemical Additives in Consumer Products by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) (C35) Effective 2021-05-19
• Determination of a Series of Bisphenols in Polycarbonate Consumer Products by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (C36) Effective 2020-07-07
• Determination of Tris (2-Chloroethyl) Phosphate (TCEP) in Polyurethane Children's Products and Similar Consumer Products by Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) and GC-MS (C38.1) Effective 2024-06-28
• Determination of Total Formaldehyde in Cosmetic Products as 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazone Derivative by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) (C39) Effective 2020-06-30
• Method for Screening Consumer Products using the Niton Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzer (C40) Effective 2023-08-09
• Determination of Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) in Nail Adhesives and Similar Consumer Products by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) (C41) Effective 2022-03-14
• Determination of para-Phenylenediamine (PPD) in cosmetics and similar consumer products by GC-MS (C42) Effective 2023-03-16
• Determination of 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy) Ethanol (DEGME) in Surface Coatings and Similar Consumer Products by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) (C43) Effective 2022-03-14
• Determination of Methylisothiazolinone (MI) and Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) in Cosmetic Products by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (C49) Effective 2020-06-29