Information received in response to Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - Phase 1

As indicated in the Notice with respect to certain quaternary ammonium compounds in Canadian commerce — Phase 1 (the Notice), and in accordance with section 49 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), the Government of Canada is providing a summary of the information received in response to the Notice, which was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on November 17, 2018 under section 46 of CEPA. The Notice collected information from manufacturers and importers (e.g., quantities and uses) on approximately 800 quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) for the 2017 calendar year. The information will be used to support priority setting, and inform future risk assessments.

The files in the resources section below offer an overview of the information gathered under this initiative including:

type of submission;

reported substances;

substances that are manufactured or imported;

industrial sectors involved;

substance functions and commercial applications; and

intended use (in commercial activity, in consumer activity, and by children).

It should be noted that these documents do not include an assessment of the potential risks these substances may pose to the environment or to the health of Canadians.

To complement the information summary document, a compilation of the non-confidential information received is available for download in Excel and CSV formats and includes a list of the substances for which no information was submitted.

Important information about this summary: To protect confidential business information, in some cases quantitative data is presented in ranges and qualitative data is excluded. Qualitative data includes information that characterizes and categorizes information [e.g., company names, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, specified uses, Substance Function Codes, and Application Codes]. Since the dataset does not include confidential business information, the figures presented may be an underestimate.

Code 999 "Other" was provided for a Substance Function Code or an Application Code, it indicates that the codes listed in the Notice did not apply and a description of the function or use was required.

Please refer to the Notice or guidance document for further details on data collected.

Supplemental Information

Useful links:

https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2018/2018-11-17/html/notice-avis-eng.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/chemical-substances/chemicals-management-plan/initiatives/transparency-risk-assessment-activities.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/chemical-substances/inventory-updates.html

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/eccc/documents/pdf/pded/quats/Guidance-manual-QAC.pdf

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/eccc/documents/pdf/pded/quats/20190312-QAC-s-46-substances-en-fr.xlsx