BPA Back-Up: Substance is Banned in Baby Bottles, but Not Yet “Toxic” in Canada

It's true - bisphenol A (BPA) has not yet been added to the federal government’s Toxic Substances List. Chemicals on the Toxic Substances List must be managed in Canada while those that are not on the list may or may not be managed depending on things such as provincial regulations.

As you may recall, in October 2008, the government said BPA was “toxic" and recommended its addition to the Toxic Substances List given concerns for Canadians’ health and environment. Then, in June 2009, the government formally published the official proposal to add BPA to the list. After an official proposal is published, the public has a specific amount of time to send in comments before everything is finalized. Meanwhile, in March 2010 (as reported in our last Toxic Nation E-news), the government went ahead with making it illegal to advertise, sell, or import baby bottles containing BPA in Canada.

So, the good news is that BPA-polluted baby bottles are not longer allowed in Canada. But, the bad news is that its slow addition to the Toxic Substances List is concerning, particularly given the secrecy around its delay. As per Saturday’s Globe and Mail article, the reason for the delay is that someone/something “filed a formal notice of objection to the listing last summer”, but the government so far refuses to say who/what filed the notice of objection.

No other chemical determined to be “toxic” via risk assessments conducted via the federal Chemicals Management Plan (as BPA was) has yet to be added to the List of Toxic Substances.