Firefighting foams, cosmetics and food packaging that contain cancer-causing "forever chemicals" could be limited or outright banned in Canada.
The federal government released its draft State of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Report, signalling its intention to pursue a comprehensive regulatory approach to these “forever chemicals.”
The proposal to regulate PFAS as a class of chemicals allows the government to more effectively address the human health and environmental harms associated with these thousands of chemicals in products.
Canada’s risk management of PFAS currently lags behind other jurisdictions.
Its regulatory scope will need to be extended to include the many products that contribute to PFAS exposures and environmental contamination in order to be on par with the E.U. — a leader in toxics policy.
This report confirms that PFAS are associated with environmental and human health harms, and is an important step in the process of addressing PFAS chemicals as a class under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).