December 6, 2006

Ambrose expected to announce plan for curbing toxic chemicals

Dennis Bueckert

Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - Environment Minister Rona Ambrose is expected to announce a plan for curbing toxic chemicals Thursday, targeting some substances for virtual elimination.

Ambrose is to reveal the strategy at an appearance before the Senate environment committee.

She'll tighten the rules for approval of new chemicals and announce $300 million for further study of substances considered problematic, said a source who asked to remain anonymous.

Ambrose will also announce the results of a seven-year effort under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to identify dangerous substances among the 23,000 chemicals available in Canada.

Environmentalists say at least 400 substances meet all the criteria to be eliminated from use. They are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic to humans or the environment.

"We had hoped and we are still expecting that the action plan will include very strong language around banning some of these chemicals," Fe de Leon of the Canadian Environmental Law Association said in an interview.

De Leon said she has no inside information on what Ambrose will announce, but is hoping for a basic shift in approach.

The onus should be on industry to prove that new chemicals are safe, not on government to prove they are unsafe, as is now the case, she said.

De Leon said she will also be looking for some action on toxic chemicals in consumer products, which aren't covered by the act.

Rick Smith of Environmental Defence noted that the initial categorization of problem chemicals was completed in September, and a government response is overdue.

"There needs to be substantial new financial resources on the table for Environment Canada and Health Canada to do their work because we're talking about the assessment and monitoring of thousands of compounds," he said.

"They do not have the resources now to do that work. And whatever game plan they announce has got to put a number of these chemicals on a regulatory track within a clear timeline."

There has been rising concern about the role of industrial chemicals in promoting cancer and a variety of health disorders, form infertility to autism.