|

Regulations Amending the Products Containing Mercury Regulations – A Call to Consultation

Canadian Flag

By Line Goyette

Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Canadian government is proposing the Regulations amending the products containing mercury. Consultation is open until March 9, 2023.

The Products Containing Mercury Regulations (the Regulations), which were published on November 19, 2014, and came into force on November 8, 2015, prohibit the manufacture and import of products containing mercury or any of its compounds.

The Regulations do not fully align with all the requirements of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (the Convention), which Canada ratified in 2017. Adjustments to the allowable mercury content limits of three lamp products that are exempt from the general mercury prohibition in the Regulations are required to fully align with the Convention. Other amendments to the Regulations are proposed to align with recent industry standards and international regulatory initiatives. Further, ongoing administration of the Regulations has identified the need to clarify some provisions of the regulatory text, such as those related to labelling, testing, reporting, and record keeping.

The proposed Amendments would ensure the Regulations meet the requirements under the Convention and in some cases, go beyond what is required in the Convention to further decrease mercury releases.

Amendments to align the Regulations with the requirements under the Convention

The proposed Amendments would lower the mercury content limit currently allowed for straight fluorescent lamps for general lighting purposes, cold cathode fluorescent lamps, and external electrode fluorescent lamps. For example, the mercury content limit for cold cathode fluorescent lamps that are 1.5 m or less in length would be lowered from 10 mg per lamp to 3.5 mg per lamp.

Prohibition dates for certain mercury-containing products and replacement lamps

The proposed Amendments would end the exemption for most mercury-containing lamps under the Regulations, as there are now widely available mercury-free alternatives for these products. Most lamps for general lighting purposes would be prohibited by January 1, 2024, while high-pressure sodium vapour lamps for general lighting purposes would be prohibited by January 1, 2029.

For transition purposes, specified replacement lamps would be allowed for a 3-year period under the proposed Amendments to replace lamps that were already in use. The sale of these replacement lamps would be prohibited two years after their exemption expires, in order to avoid issues of stockpiling while allowing retailers to sell their stock. In addition, replacement bulbs for existing automobile headlamps would be allowed with no end date.

The proposed Amendments would also create three new categories of exempted lamps in the schedule. These three categories are lamps used for growing plants, lamps for water treatment and lamps for air treatment. These types of lamps are currently exempted under a broad category that covers all specialty lamps. The objective of creating these new categories is to prohibit the first new category (plant growing), starting in 2028. For the two other new categories (air and water treatment lamps), no prohibition is proposed at this time. Naming them in the exempted products would allow the Department to have a better understanding of the quantity of each lamp type manufactured and imported in Canada, since the catch-all category does not require reporters to provide this level of detail.

To take part in the consultation or find out more about this draft regulation and the economic and environmental impacts, go to https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2022/2022-12-24/html/reg1-eng.html

Related Articles


Changing Scene

  • IES Educational Webinar April 2023

    IES Educational Webinar Series: April 20,2023

    March 28, 2023 Each month, the IES presents a live webinar on a current topic that helps expand your lighting knowledge and furthers our mission of improving life through quality of light. Live and on-demand are free to all IES members, and are eligible for IES continuing education credits (CEUs). Live webinars are available at… Read More…

  • Light Responsibly: 2023 IES Annual Conference

    March 27, 2023 Conference dates: Aug 3 – 5th 2023Location: Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center1551 Thoreau Dr N, Schaumburg, IL 60173 Theme The theme for the 2023 IES Annual Conference is Light Responsibly. This year’s theme focuses on the responsibility that the lighting industry has to itself, to the architectural and construction industry, and to the world… Read More…


Design

  • Light at Night and the Inequality Gap: Progress and Challenges

    Light at Night and the Inequality Gap: Progress and Challenges

    March 9, 2023 In December 2021, the DLC hosted a webinar that explored issues related to “Bridging the Inequality Gap” in outdoor nighttime lighting. The conversation introduced research on how lighting contributes to discrimination and inequity in underrepresented communities, and generated heightened interest among attendees. To follow up on the research and work presented, the DLC sat… Read More…

  • LIT Design Awards Light Art Project Winner: Integral Group

    LIT Design Awards Light Art Project Winner: Integral Group

    December 19, 2022 Prize(s) Winners in Light Art Project Company Integral Group Lead Designers Ellie Niakan + Catherine Chan Photo Credits Catherine Chan Completion Date December 21, 2021 Project Location New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada Although appearing as solitary, trees are connected to one another through vast underground systems known as mycorrhizal networks. Through these hidden systems—a symbiotic relationship between plants… Read More…


New Products

  • Introducing LED-integrated Wine Rack System from MP Lighting

    Introducing LED-integrated Wine Rack System from MP Lighting

    March 23, 2023 Wine enthusiasts, sommeliers, and casual appreciators alike can all agree: wine is delicate. The naturally occurring chemicals in the wine can be disturbed by many environmental factors, mainly heat, lighting, and vibrations. To aid in the prevention of these factors spoiling the wine, wine racks can be installed. LED-integrated wine rack systems… Read More…

  • Punctuate with Hyphen. New architectural luminaire system by Fluxwerx

    Punctuate with Hyphen. New architectural luminaire system by Fluxwerx

    March 23, 2023 Fluxwerx makes a break from the ordinary with the launch of Hyphen—a family of discrete recessed and surface luminaires to design, define and leave your mark. With Portal, Fluxwerx pushed past conventional downlights and cylinders in our drive to give designers new and differentiated aesthetic options with innovative optics that maximize visual… Read More…