Vol. 144, No. 6 — March 17, 2010

Registration

SOR/2010-37 February 23, 2010

HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS ACT

Regulations Amending the Hazardous Products (Kettles) Regulations

P.C. 2010-206 February 23, 2010

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Health, pursuant to section 5 (see footnote a) of the Hazardous Products Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Hazardous Products (Kettles) Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS (KETTLES) REGULATIONS

AMENDMENT

1. Section 3 of the Hazardous Products (Kettles) Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

3. A product may be advertised, sold or imported into Canada if it does not release more than 0.01 part per million w/w lead when tested in the manner described in section 4.

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

Lead is an inexpensive, soft, heavy metal that has many potential uses, but is also highly toxic. Lead can enter the body through the digestive system or the lungs. It accumulates in the body and can damage almost all body systems, especially the nervous system. Lead has also been shown to cause intellectual and behavioural deficits in children.

The problem of lead leakage from the solder used in kettles was identified in 1974. This problem stemmed from the use of poor-quality solder (and other components) used in the construction of kettles. (see footnote 2)

Testing revealed that, where lead solder was used on the inside of some kettles, the lead level in the water boiled therein exceeded the standard recommended by Health Canada for drinking water (0.05 ppm [part per million weight/weight] as of 1974). To correct the situation, manufacturers have adopted the use of safer construction methods such as non-lead solder (e.g. a silver solder).

This amendment lowers the maximum leachable lead level under section 3 of the Hazardous Products (Kettles) Regulations from 0.05 ppm to 0.01 ppm, and was done to

• keep these Regulations harmonized with the 2007 version of the “Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality”; and
• reduce the Canadian public’s exposure to lead as stipulated in Health Canada’s “Lead Risk Reduction Strategy for Consumer Products.”

Description and rationale

Health Canada is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) and its regulations. The purpose of the HPA is to protect the health and safety of Canadians by prohibiting or regulating the sale, advertisement and importation of products which are, or are likely to pose, a danger to human health or safety. In 1974, the Hazardous Products (Kettles) Regulations established a maximum permissible level of leachable lead in kettles, with a subsequent amendment occurring in 1991. These Regulations are among the many others cited in Health Canada’s “Lead Risk Reduction Strategy for Consumer Products” that will serve to minimize the Canadian population’s exposure to lead through the use of consumer products.

Kettles are described under Part II of Schedule I to the HPA as being “Kettles for household use that release lead into water boiled therein.” The Regulations apply to a wide-range of products including both stove-top and electric makes of kettles, coffee percolators, samovars, and espresso machines. The leachable lead is found generally within materials of poor quality used in the construction of the kettle, such as in the vessel walls or in the soldering used to fuse parts of the kettle together.

Many other methods and materials have replaced the use of solder in the production of kettles. Many kettles are now made entirely of plastic with an aluminum exterior for the “stainless steel” look. Metal around the bottom of the kettles is now often crimped around the base instead of being welded or soldered. Some models use hidden heating elements which are separate or outside of the water compartment. Also, lead-free solder is a common material composed of materials like silver, copper and zinc.

The amendment brings the Hazardous Products (Kettles) Regulations in line with the safe levels identified in the 2007 version of the “Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality” by lowering the maximum leachable lead level from 0.05 ppm to 0.01 ppm.

In focussed sampling and testing efforts conducted by Health Canada during fiscal year 2006–2007, manufacturers and importers demonstrated an 88.9% compliance rating with the proposed revised lead limit. Test results also identified a compliance rating of 100% when measured against the current lead limit of 0.05 ppm.

The amendment is expected to have a low impact on most businesses and result in minimal cost for industry members as most companies are in compliance and since many affordable alternatives to using lead in the construction of kettles exist. The amendment has no negative international trade impacts and is not expected to cause any reduction of Canadian kettle sales in the international marketplace.

Consultation

The consultation for this regulatory amendment consisted of both a letter mailout and Web posting component.

The mailout was conducted during the summer of 2007 and consisted of a letter advising of the upcoming proposed regulatory action and solicited views on the subject. Out of the 90 stakeholders contacted (importers, manufacturers, associations), 8 replied. All comments received indicated that stakeholders were in favour of the new proposed maximum leachable lead limit for kettles. This consultation also included some foreign manufacturers (Iran, Italy, Japan) and their product importers in Canada. No response was received from them.

No comments or concerns were received by Health Canada during the 75-day comment period following pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I (May 23, 2009 until August 6, 2009).

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The amendment does not have an impact on the current approach taken by Health Canada when enforcing the Regulations under the HPA. Enforcement will continue to be based on existing inspection and enforcement policies established by Health Canada.

Contact

Chad Tibbo
Project Officer
Chemistry and Flammability Division
Consumer Product Safety Directorate
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety
Department of Health
Macdonald Building, 4th Floor
123 Slater Street
Address Locator: 3504D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9
Fax: 613-960-1352
Email: chad_tibbo@hc-sc.gc.ca

Footnote a
S.C. 2004, c. 9, s. 2

Footnote b
R.S., c. H-3

Footnote 1
C.R.C., c. 927

Footnote 2
Kettles include any vessel used to heat water for beverages — see Description and rationale.

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML 1.0 Strict).