On May 19th, the Canadian government published two separate actions related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The first was a draft State-of-PFAS in Canada report from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada. The second was a proposal by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to limit PFOS in biosolids imported or sold in Canada as commercial fertilizers to less than 50 parts per billion (ppb). There are currently no limits for PFAS in biosolids and this action is intended to mitigate the risks associated with PFAS in biosolids while the research continues.

The CFIA is responsible for regulating imports and sales of commercial fertilizer, including biosolids-based ones.  CFIA has been studying the issue of PFAS in biosolids for a while and is working with ECCC, Health Canada, Provincial partners and others to assess the risks of PFAS in the food chain. Engagement efforts will start over the summer to develop an implementation plan for PFAS limits in biosolids. In its announcement of the proposed interim limits, CFIA acknowledged the numerous benefits of recycling biosolids. While CFIA regulates imports and sales of biosolids, the individual Provinces and Territories regulate the manufacture, use and disposal of biosolids. Back in March, Quebec issued a moratorium on the import of U.S. biosolids for agricultural uses (see Quebec Restricts Biosolids Imports — NEBRA (nebiosolids.org)) and has proposed to make that restriction permanent.

The draft report published by ECCC was very detailed, totaling 215 pages and including numerous references and citations. The report covers uses and exposures to PFAS in Canada, environmental occurrence, behavior, and ecotoxicity, human biomonitoring and health hazards, and domestic and international actions on PFAS. The report’s findings include the importance of source control (especially Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) used in firefighting) and expressed concerns with the risks of PFAS impacts on firefighters as well as indigenous peoples.  The report recommends regulating PFAS as a class.

Under the chapter on Uses & Sources of Exposure in the State of PFAS in Canada report, the authors review “waste/end of product life” which includes an examination of PFAS in landfills, through incineration, in composts, wastewater treatment systems, and biosolids. One of the references for the wastewater treatment section was Removal and formation of perfluoroalkyl substances in Canadian sludge treatment systems – A mass balance approach - ScienceDirect by Dr. Lakshminarasimman etal. from the University of Waterloo’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  One of the co-authors of that paper, Dr. Wayne Parker recently presented to the NEBRA Research Committee on this and other PFAS-related research the University of Waterloo is working on (NEBRA members see Research Committee — NEBRA (nebiosolids.org) for a recording of that presentation. 

With this comprehensive groundwork laid, Canada plans to move ahead with risk-based regulations for PFAS regulations as warranted. For more information and details, see these resources from the Canadian government:
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency takes action to address forever chemicals in the environment (newswire.ca)
Government of Canada taking next step in addressing “forever chemicals” PFAS - Canada.ca.