Environmental Assessments Of Priority Substances Under The Canadian Environmental Protection Act

One of the initiatives under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act is the Priority Substances Assessment Program. The Program has developed lists of substances that should be given priority for assessment to determine whether they are toxic as defined under Section 11 of the Act. The intent of this document is to provide guidance to those actively involved or interested in the conduct of environmental risk assessments of substances on the second Priority Substances List, published in 1995, which contains 25 substances. It begins with descriptions of the principles and policies adopted by Environment Canada for environmental risk assessments, and of the four stages in such assessments for substances on the second list (initial steps, problem formulation, detailed assessment, and products, approvals, and publishing). Finally, updates on environmental assessments are provided for the substances on the second list.

"The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), proclaimed on June 30, 1988, and amended on June 30, 1989, authorizes the Ministers of the Environment and of Health to investigate a wide variety of substances that may be present in the environment and cause adverse effects on the environment or on human health"--Introduction.

'Procedural Environmental Rights: Principle X in Theory and Practice' provides an overview of various aspects of the current status, development and practice of rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters following their codification as non-binding principles in Principle X of the Rio Declaration.