Chlorinated paraffins

  • Listed on the First Priority Substances List (PSL1)
  • Follow-up Assessment Conducted to Include New Information
  • Draft report being revised following public comment period

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) were one of the 44 substances or groups of substances placed on the First Priority Substances List (PSL1) to determine whether they posed a risk to the health of Canadians or to the environment.

The final PSL1 assessment report was published in 1993 and concluded that short chainCPs were toxic to human health. However, there was insufficient information to conclude whether short, medium or long chain CPs were harmful to the environment or whether medium or long chain CPs were considered a danger to human health.

Assessment Status and Conclusion

Environment Canada and Health Canada have completed draft scientific assessments of short chain, medium chain, and long chain CPs, as a follow-up to the PSL1 assessment.

The Draft Follow-up Report prepared by Environment Canada proposes that short, medium, and certain long chain CPs are toxic to the environment, as defined under Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999), and would be proposed as candidates for virtual elimination.

The Draft Follow-up Report prepared by Health Canada confirms the conclusion that short chain CPs are toxic to human health and proposes that medium and long chain CPs are suspected to be toxic to human health.

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