Canada proposes the elimination of the elimination of 'Forever Chemicals' in consumer products

Canada proposed on Wednesday to eliminate the elimination of “Forever Chemicals” in many consumption products after finding that they are toxic and harmful at the high levels found in people and the environment.

The restrictions on pear substances and polyfluoroalquilo, or PFA, would arrive in several years from 2027, after consultations.

In a Fire Room in Montreal, the Minister of Environment, Steven Guilbeault, said that fire extinguish foams containing these chemicals would be prohibited in a first phase, followed by products such as cosmetic, food and textile packaging materials.

The prohibition would also be directed to the PFA in prescription drugs and medical devices.

Guilbeault described this “a significant step to better protect all Canadians from chemicals forever.”

Follow the ads in 2024 of the patterns for PFA in drinking water and Canadian fertilizer.

The United States, the European Union and Australia have also begun to restrict the use of PFA amid environmental and health concerns.

The evidence found PFA in the Canadian environment, even in the Arctic, in wildlife and “in almost 100 percent of the Canadian population,” for example, in blood and brain, according to government documents.

PFAs are chemicals made of humans used since the late 1940s to produce the antiating, waterproof and resistant treatments to spots that cover everything, from pans to umbrellas, carpets, dental thread and ski wax.

Because the PFA take a long time to break down, winning their nickname “forever”, they have infiltrated the ground and groundwater, and from there to the food chain and drinking water.

Chronic exposure to low levels of chemicals has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low pesos of birth and various types of cancer.

The new rules will aim to “achieve the lowest levels of environmental and human exposure to PFA that are technically feasible,” a senior official told an informative session.

However, the prohibition would exclude fluoropolymers, a type of heat resistant plastic used in aerospace, automotive and electronics, which will continue to be evaluated.

Other exemptions can be considered depending on available alternatives, socio -economic factors and what the rest of the world is doing, said the official.