PT06 Contaminants-Receptor Interactions: New Challenges
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday, 11 November 2003
(PT088) Environment Canada's Screening Assessment of Polychlorinated Naphthalenes (PCNs).
Miettunen, A.1, Harris, P.1, 1 Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
ABSTRACT- A screening assessment of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) is underway at Environment Canada, to determine if these substances are "toxic" as defined under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). Environment Canada sets priorities for assessment based on analysis of categorization results of Canada's Domestic Substances List (DSL), as well as additional information from: industry; emerging science; new substances notifications; public nominations; and provincial or international decisions. Following assessment, the Ministers of the Environment and of Health may recommend: (1) no further action; (2) addition to the Priority Substances List (PSL) for further assessment; or, (3) addition to the List of Toxic Substances under Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999 for development of risk management measures. Assessments in other jurisdictions have shown PCNs are substances of high environmental concern due to their potential for long range transport, persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity. Despite measures to phase out major commercial production of PCNs during the 1970s and 80s in the U.S. and Western Europe, these contaminants are being detected in biota and the environment, including in samples from the Arctic. Potential sources of environmental releases include combustion by-products, disposal of items containing PCNs to landfill, and evaporative emissions from past uses. Possible releases and uses of PCNs in Canada are currently under investigation. Environment Canada's screening assessment will support international work to collect data on PCNs, which may be nominated as a substance for addition to the UNECE POPs Protocol. The screening assessment includes mono- and dichloronaphthalenes, as well as higher substituted chloronaphthalenes, and uses a class approach, to address 75 PCN congeners. The status of this work to date will be outlined.
Key words: polychlorinated naphthalenes, PCNs, screening, assessment