The Canadian minister of the environment has published SOR/2014-254 products containing mercury regulations under the Canadian environmental protection act recently. SOR/2014-254 is aimed at reducing the risks posed by mercury release into the environment by prohibiting the manufacture and import of
products containing mercury or any of its compounds. The effective date of this regulation is the 8th of November 2015.
Scope
These Regulations apply to any product that contains mercury except the ones exempted by the regulations such as waste, products regulated by the food and drugs act and so on. 16 kinds of products are exempted in total.
For the purposes of these Regulations, mercury includes any of its compounds.
Main Requirements
1. Prohibition: A person must not manufacture or import any product that contains mercury unless the product belongs to a product category set out in column 1 of the schedule, containing mercury within the limits set out in column 2 and the person manufactures or imports the product on or before the end date
set out in column 3, or the person holds a permit issued by the minister. For some products, which have no technically or economically viable alternatives, content of mercury will be limited, exempted or allowed upon approval.
2. Labelling: Any person that manufactures or imports a product that contains mercury must indicate the following information in a readily visible location on the product and, if applicable, on its package by means of a stamp, label or other mark:
(a) The statement “Contains mercury / Contient du mercure”;
(b) Safe handling procedures and the measures to be taken in case of accidental breakage ;
(c) The options available for the disposal and recycling of the product in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction where the disposal or recycling is to take place;
(d) A statement to the effect that the product should be disposed of or recycled in accordance with the applicable laws.
3. ‘Hg’ symbol: Certain products listed in the regulation shall carry the ‘Hg’ symbol legibly and indelibly, in the locations specified and according to the font size requirements.
Download the final regulation here
Suggestion
The regulations prohibit almost all products containing mercury with some exceptions. Companies are recommended to conduct a supply chain survey and perform test if necessary. The determination of mercury for the purposes of these regulations shall be conducted by a laboratory qualified to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and the total quantity of mercury contained in an product shall be determined using IEC 62321-4:2013.
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