New Canadian Volatile Organic Compound Limits...
New Canadian Volatile Organic Compound Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations
New Canadian regulations impose restrictions on acceptable Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content of a variety of coating products. The new regulations set out obligations applicable to the manufacturers, importers and sellers (suppliers, wholesalers, retailers) of regulated architectural coatings. Architectural coatings are products such as paints, stains, varnishes, lacquers and other types of coatings applied to traffic surfaces or to a wide variety of stationary structures in residential, commercial, institutional and industrial settings.
What Are Volatile Organic Compounds:
• VOC emissions from the architectural coating sector result from the use of solvents in both solvent-based and water-based coatings. The solvents in coatings are released to the atmosphere by evaporation during the drying and curing process. They then contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and particulate matter, which form smog.
Covered Products:
• The regulations set mandatory VOC concentration limits and prohibit the manufacture, importation and sale of 53 categories of architectural coatings containing VOCs in concentrations in excess of stipulated limits. These can be viewed at www.ec.ca/ceparegistry.
Timeline:
• For most of the regulated coatings, the manufacture and import prohibition takes effect on September 9, 2010. For a few categories, the prohibition comes into effect on September 9, 2012 or on September 9, 2014.
• The regulations allow a two year “sell-through” period during which non-compliant product in inventory in Canada on September 9, 2010 may continue to be sold. After that, all sales of product not in compliance with the new regulations will be prohibited. For most coatings, this means that the stop-selling date will be September 9, 2012.
Brock White Canada Company, as a distributor of some of these coating products, will attempt to maintain a list as to what products are affected by these new regulations so you can be aware of these, and plan your purchases accordingly. The information that we provide is based on what the manufacturers have supplied to us.
Please review the application instructions for all coatings moving forward as they may have changed in the reformulation of some products to meet the new requirements.
Please contact Brock White for more information on any questions or concerns.
For more information on the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations, SOR/2009-264.
These can be viewed at http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2009/2009-09-30/pdf/g2-14320.pdf#page=73, or please see the Environment Canada website at http://www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry/regulations/detailReg.cfm?intReg=117