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(46-40) Testing of Water Availability for Polymers Submitted for Assessment Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Falicki, Slavomir*,1, Porter, Darren1, Lawuyi, Richard1, Atkinson, Andy1, 1 New Substances Branch, Environment Canada, Hull, Quebec, Canada ABSTRACT- The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) requires that all new substances be assessed for "toxicity" as defined by legislation. Notifiers of new substances for the Canadian market are required to provide detailed information and test data prior to the commencement of any manufacture or import. For polymers, one of the key data elements to be submitted is water solubility at different pHs. However, the complexity of polymers with a wide range of molecular weights makes the water solubility determination of some polymers difficult and may not capture the amount "available" to aquatic organisms. Therefore, industry and government have identified deficiencies with certain methods that are used to obtain water solubility data for polymers. The recommendations for appropriate methods of measurement of water availability, sample preparation and standardized test media for polymers submitted to the New Substances Program under CEPA are discussed. Key words: polymers, solubility, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, New Substances |
