Health Canada is consulting Canadians over the next 45 days on its proposed special review decision for pentachlorophenol to cancel all uses of pentachlorophenol in Canada.

Pentachlorophenol is a pesticide registered in Canada for industrial uses as a heavy duty wood preservative. The pentachlorophenol-treated wood is used as utility poles, pilings, railway ties and outdoor construction materials. Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency initiated this special review based on decisions from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries to prohibit all uses due to health and environmental concerns.

An evaluation of the available scientific information indicated that pentachlorophenol and its transformation product pentachloroanisole are identified as Track 1 substances under the Toxic Substances Management Policy. Therefore, cancellation of all uses of pentachlorophenol is proposed to address the potential long-term risk of these substances.

In addition, an evaluation of the available scientific information related to the human health aspects of concern indicated that under the current conditions of use of pentachlorophenol, potential risk to human health is not shown to be acceptable.

For more information on the proposed decision open the “Proposed Special Review Decision”.

How to Get Involved

This consultation is open for comment from 30 July 2020 to 13 September 2020 (45 calendar days).

To comment on PSRD2020-03:

• Step 1: Request the full consultation document to read the Science Evaluation that is the basis of this proposed regulatory decision.
• Step 2: Submit comments to the PMRA Publications Section.

All comments and information received during the public comment period will be considered before making a final special review decision.

Please refer to the document title (for example: PSRD2020-03, Special Review of Pentachlorophenol and Its Associated End-use Products) when providing comments.

Reporting to Canadians

Health Canada will make the results of this consultation available on this website. Once the decision is finalized, the PMRA will post a Special Review Decision on the Pesticides and Pest Management Reports and Publications portion of Canada.ca.

If you have any questions, contact the Pest Management Information Service.

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