The purpose of this National Implementation Plan (NIP) is to inform the Conference of the Parties and the public about how the obligations of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) will be implemented in Canada. The NIP is written to fulfil the Article 7. As also specified in Article 7, Canada will conduct periodic reviews and updates of the NIP in accordance with schedules to be determined by the Conference of the Parties. Part I of the NIP demonstrates how Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial policies, legislation, regulations and other instruments in place and planned will be used to implement the obligations set out in the Stockholm Convention. The obligations and actions are: 1) Prohibit and/or take legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate production and use of Annex A chemicals. Firstly, the industrial chemicals covered by the Convention are prohibited under Canadian environmental regulations. Canadian government has also committed to develop a new Pest Control Products Act (PCPA); to improve health and environmental protection; strengthen post-registration control of pesticides and make the registration process more transparent; continue to take into account risks due to persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity and potential for long-range transport; provide increased flexibility to initiate a special review if there are reasonable grounds to believe that risks are unacceptable; and provide the power to impose export restrictions; for existing pesticides make mandatory adverse effects reporting, sales data reporting, and periodic reevaluation. 2) Restrict the production and use of Annex B chemicals. Canada’s Ministers of Environment and of Health have finalized the addition of DDT to the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2005. These regulations prohibit the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of DDT in Canada (with minor exceptions, including laboratory use and incidental presence). 3) Prohibit and/or take legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate import and export of the chemicals listed in Annex A and Annex B. The pesticides listed in Annexes A and B are not registered under the PCPA and so may not be imported. As Canada has no remaining stockpiles of these pesticides and they are not manufactured in Canada, export of these substances does not occur. 4) Take measures to regulate with the aim of preventing the production and use of new pesticides or new chemicals which, taking into consideration criteria in Annex D, exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutant. Canada has set several risk management mechanisms: Toxic Substances Management Policy (TSMP) criteria to identify Track 1 substances targeted for virtual elimination (used by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 - CEPA 1999 and the PCPA); before making a registration decision regarding a new pest control product, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) conducts a comprehensive assessment of the risk and value specific to the proposed use; under the New Substances Notification regime established by CEPA 1999, Canada’s Ministers of Environment and of Health are obligated to assess all “new” chemicals to determine if they are “toxic” to the environment or human health. 5) Take into consideration within assessment schemes for pesticides and chemicals in use the criteria in Annex D when conducting assessments of pesticides. The new PCPA will require that reevaluations of pesticides be initiated no longer than 15 years after the most recent major decision with respect to registration, reevaluation or special review. Part II of the NIP describes Canada’s National Action Plan (NAP) addressing emissions of unintentionally produced POPs (UPOPs), under Article 5 of the Stockholm Convention. Federal, provincial, territorial and municipal laws provide the basis for management strategies and tools appropriate for a particular source sector: CEPA 1999 is the key legislation of the Canadian government for the management of toxic substances; it contains provisions for the prevention, control and virtual elimination of persistent, bioaccumulative toxic substances. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) provides for comprehensive consideration of new projects, which include potential new sources of UPOPs. The TSMP of the Canadian government and the subsequent Policy for the Management of Toxic Substances - PMTS of the e Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment - CCME have established a unified, national approach for the management of toxic substances that are persistent and bioaccumulative and result primarily from human activity — namely, virtual elimination. The reduction and elimination strategies of UPOPs are based on a mix of management tools, including regulations, guidelines, environmental codes of practice and other tools, such as education programs. Many of these instruments are based on the application of Best Available Technique (BAT) and Best Environment Practices (BEP). Reduction strategies in Canada include: regulations for pulp and paper mills (which have resulted in the virtual elimination of dioxin and furan releases to water from this source); CWS Canada-wide Standard (s) for Dioxins and Furans emissions from five priority source sectors (e.g. incinerators of municipal waste, hazardous waste, medical waste and sewage sludge; coastal pulp and paper boilers burning salt-laden wood; iron sintering plants; steel manufacturing electric arc furnaces; and conical waste combustors of municipal waste). These standards include emission limits or activity phase-out, implementation timelines and reporting mechanisms; national guidelines for the use of hazardous and nonhazardous waste in cement kilns; Environmental Code of Practice for Base Metals Smelters and Refineries, published under CEPA 1999; a Pollution Prevention Plan Notice for Base Metals Smelters and Refineries, published under CEPA 1999; and education and technology change-out programs for more diffuse sources, such as on-site residential combustion of household wastes and residential wood combustion.
كندا · 2006-05-17