Canada Revises Consumer Products Containing Lead Regulations

Vol. 1026 | 24 May 2018

As part of Health Canada’s Lead Risk Reduction Strategy for consumer products (LRRS), Health Canada aims to reduce exposure to lead content from consumer products, especially children’s products. In keeping with this, Health Canada has identified other products on the North American market containing lead in excess of 90 mg/kg, including children’s apparel, sleepwear and accessories.

While the current SOR/2010-273 has been effective in reducing the lead content in products, other than kitchen utensils, that are brought into contact with the user’s mouth in the course of normal use, and products intended for use in learning or play (toys) by children under three years of age, the LRRS has identified that there are more categories of products that potentially expose children to higher than acceptable levels of lead.

As a result, the current SOR/2010-273 Consumer Products Containing Lead (Contact with Mouth) Regulations (CPCMCLR), have been repealed and replaced by SOR/2018-83 Consumer Products Containing Lead Regulations.

While the actual lead limits do not change from the original 90 mg/kg, the new regulations extend the CPCMCLR requirements to Products in Group 2 of LRRS, which include:

• products intended for use in learning or play (toys) by children between the ages of 3 and under 14 years;
• children’s clothing and accessories; and
• products whose primary purpose is to facilitate the relaxation, sleep, hygiene, carrying or transportation of a child under 4 years of age.

Following are the revised requirements for lead under the Consumer Products Containing Lead Regulations:

Each accessible part of the following consumer products must not contain lead more than 90 mg/kg:

1. a product that is brought into contact with the user’s mouth during normal use, except for
   • a kitchen utensil, or
   • a product that is subject to the Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations;
2. any clothing or clothing accessory that is intended for use by a child under 14 years of age;
3. a product that is intended for use in learning or play by a child under 14 years of age;
4. a book or similar printed product that is intended for a child under 14 years of age, except if it is:
   • printed on paper or cardboard, and
   • printed and bound in a conventional manner using conventional materials;
5. a product whose primary purpose is to facilitate the relaxation, sleep, hygiene, carrying or transportation of a child under four years of age

Exceptions to the 90 mg/kg limit are allowed in cases where:

• lead is necessary to produce an essential characteristic of the part;
• no alternative part containing less lead is available; and
• the part, when tested in accordance with good laboratory practices, does not release more than 90 mg/kg of lead.

The new Consumer Products Containing Lead Regulations come into force on November 2, 2018, six months from the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II. In the interim, Health Canada can take corrective measures if products containing high lead levels are found on the Canadian marketplace.

The Final Regulation can be viewed at: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2018/2018-05-02/html/sor-dors83-eng.html

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, +1-630-209-9265) or Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com, +1-847-212-8273).