Canada deems PFAS 'forever chemicals' toxic

Canada will designate most PFAS chemicals as toxic, a major step in a years-long effort to reduce the use of the so-called 'forever chemicals.' 

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, commonly known as PFAS, are a class of thousands of water- and grease-repelling substances used in everything from makeup to outdoor gear and firefighting foam. Nearly indestructible, the chemicals are ubiquitous in nature and have rapidly begun accumulating in human bodies over the past several decades. Even small doses can harm the kidneys, thyroid, reproduction, nervous and immune systems and metabolism. 

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada concluded that PFAS should be listed as toxic because they are so persistent in the environment and pose health and environmental risks, the ministries said in a statement. Only PFAS contained in pesticides and fluoropolymers, a group of solid PFAS-based plastics, will be excluded from the designation. 

In a Wednesday press briefing, officials with ECCC and Health Canada outlined their plan to reduce use of the chemicals in Canada. It will take at least two months to have the chemicals added to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act’s register of toxic chemicals. 

Once the chemicals are officially listed, Canada will limit the use of  PFAS in firefighting foam. Measures to reduce the use of the chemicals in consumer goods, like makeup and clothing, will come next, with consultations planned for 2027. They will be followed by rules to minimize the use of PFAS in essential items, such as medical devices, drugs, and industrial facilities. 

The government has already created a nationwide water quality objective for PFAS meant to protect human health, has banned the import of fertilizers made from sewage sludge that contain high levels of PFAS, and requires companies releasing or disposing of 163 types of PFAS to report them to the National Pollutant Reporting Inventory. 

Only a handful of U.S. states and France have implemented considerably more stringent rules for PFAS, putting Canada near the front of the pack on regulating the substances, said Elaine MacDonald, director of healthy communities for the environmental group Ecojustice. 

"It's progress," she said. "It's a pretty tough environment right now for the government to move on these things with the tariffs, so I'm pleased to see them do this now. But I wish we could get to a final order before an election."

Fluoropolymers, a type of PFAS which industry groups claim are less dangerous, will be exempted from the listing and subject to their own future measures, officials said. Last July, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said his ministry excluded fluoropolymers to protect the broader PFAS regulations  from lawsuits. But in September, Canada's National Observer found that decision was based on research completed by an expert with close ties to the PFAS industry. 

PFAS contained in pesticides will also be excluded from the rules because they are regulated under different laws, despite concern from environmental groups that their use is rising across the country. Pesticides are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, which does not make public how many pesticides are used in Canada and where they're used, including products that contain PFAS. 

A European study published last year found that the prevalence of residues from the 10 most-used PFAS-based pesticides tripled between 2011 and 2021 in European fruits and vegetables. Eight of the most common European PFAS-ticides are also approved for use in Canada; three of them were sold in volumes exceeding 10,000 kilograms of active ingredient in 2020, according to federal sales data.

 "It's a big gap that pesticides have separate legislation," said MacDonald. "Canada could make a lot of progress [regulating PFAS] under CEPA and completely undo that through the use of PFAS-containing pesticides."

Still, she was clear the government's current measures marked an improvement over the status quo. Cassie Barker, director of toxics with Environmental Defense agreed, noting that the PFAS industry has spent decades lobbying against regulations. 

"I'm sure that things could have moved faster if the industry had spent the past four years reformulating instead of complaining," she said. "This ultimately is about holding the industry to account for their use of highly toxic substances in consumer products."