Armstrong V C, Newhook R C
Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 1992 Apr;15(2 Pt 1):111-21. doi: 10.1016/0273-2300(92)90043-9.
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) came into force in June 1988. This legislation provides the federal government with broad powers to deal with health and environmental problems posed by chemicals and the products of biotechnology throughout their life cycle. Responsibility for administering CEPA is shared between the Department of the Environment and the Department of National Health and Welfare. Part II of the Act, the "toxic substances" provisions, enables the federal government to impose controls on substances new to Canadian commerce and to address the health and environmental risks posed by existing substances. Part II of CEPA also delineates the manner in which existing substances are to be selected for assessment (priority substances) and controlled. The first Priority Substances List was published in February 1989. The 44 entries on this list include discrete chemicals, classes of chemicals, and complex mixtures of chemicals; the Department of the Environment and the Department of National Health and Welfare must ascertain whether these substances pose a risk (are "toxic" as defined in CEPA) to the environment or to human health by February 1994. This paper outlines the administrative arrangements for conducting risk assessments and the requirements for ascertaining whether a substance is "toxic" with respect to human health under CEPA. The rationale for deeming dioxins and furans, the first two priority substances to be assessed, as "toxic" with respect to human health is also described.
《加拿大环境保护法》（CEPA）于1988年6月生效。该立法赋予联邦政府广泛权力，以处理化学品及生物技术产品在其整个生命周期中所造成的健康和环境问题。《加拿大环境保护法》的管理职责由环境部和国家卫生与福利部共同承担。该法案第二部分“有毒物质”条款，使联邦政府能够对加拿大商业领域中的新物质实施管控，并应对现有物质所带来的健康和环境风险。《加拿大环境保护法》第二部分还规定了选择现有物质进行评估（优先物质）和管控的方式。第一份优先物质清单于1989年2月发布。该清单上的44种物质包括单一化学品、化学品类别以及化学品的复杂混合物；环境部和国家卫生与福利部必须在1994年2月前确定这些物质是否对环境或人类健康构成风险（即是否属于《加拿大环境保护法》所定义的“有毒”物质）。本文概述了进行风险评估的行政安排以及根据《加拿大环境保护法》确定某种物质对人类健康是否“有毒”的要求。文中还描述了将首批待评估的两种优先物质二恶英和呋喃认定为对人类健康“有毒”的理由。
