What is the regulatory status of bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) in Canada? Cover the 2010 CEPA toxic designation, the polycarbonate baby bottle ban, BPA in food can linings and thermal paper receipts, and any current or proposed Canadian measures including the bisphenols group assessment.

I found no federal BPA restriction in Canada beyond the baby bottle ban. BPA is listed as CEPA-toxic, polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA are prohibited, and the other measures are industrial effluent controls. Food can linings are handled through Health Canada's safety conclusion and an "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA) approach, not a regulation. I found no Canadian measure on thermal paper. The bisphenols group (BPA structural analogues and functional alternatives, or "BPA SAFAs") is still at the information-gathering stage, with no published draft assessment.

Approach. I searched CEPA Schedule 1, the CEPA Environmental Registry (Canada Gazette notices and orders), the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) pages for BPA and the bisphenols group, the Domestic Substances List (DSL), and the Food and Drug Regulations. Search terms were BPA, CAS 80-05-7, the CAS name, "bisphenols", "polycarbonate baby bottles" and "thermal paper". About 20 registry and CMP records came back; I set aside the TBBPA (tetrabromobisphenol A) notices as a different substance. Where the datasets ran out (baby bottle Schedule 2 wording, food packaging, the bisphenols group's current status), I used canada.ca pages only, as search snippets.

1. CEPA "toxic" designation (assessed 2008, final order 2010)

• BPA is on the DSL as an existing substance, meaning it was in Canadian commerce in 1984-1986 ^[1].
• The finding dates from 2008, not 2010:
  • Draft screening assessment: Canada Gazette Part I, 19 April 2008 ^[2].
  • Final decision: Part I, 18 October 2008 ^[3].
  • Health Canada says BPA met the criteria of CEPA section 64 ^[4].
• Listing on Schedule 1:
  • Proposed order: Part I, 16 May 2009 ^[5].
  • Final order: Part II, 13 October 2010. Health Canada also lists Notices of Objection and a request for a Board of Review ^[4].
  • BPA is Schedule 1, Part 2, item 86 ("Phenol, 4,4′-(1-methylethylidene)bis-") ^[6].

2. Polycarbonate baby bottle ban

• Canada banned the manufacture, import, sale and advertising of polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA ^[4].
• It was done by an Order Amending Schedule 1 to the Hazardous Products Act (Bisphenol A), Canada Gazette Part II, 31 March 2010 ^[4].
• According to a canada.ca search snippet, the prohibition now sits in Schedule 2 (prohibited products) of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. The snippet also says a 2018 Health Canada evaluation found infant BPA exposure down 96%.
• The CMP page confirms that the December 2018 BPA health performance evaluation measured progress against the goal of "minimizing infant exposure to BPA to the greatest extent practicable" ^[4].

3. Food can linings

• BPA is used in epoxy resins lining metal food and drink cans ^[4].
• I found no BPA provision in the Food and Drug Regulations dataset. Food packaging is handled by safety assessment, not a ban.
• According to canada.ca search snippets:
  • Health Canada's Food Directorate concludes that current dietary exposure from food packaging is not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and young children.
  • It applies ALARA to limit exposure from packaging used for infant food.
  • It has run surveys of canned foods and drinks, liquid infant formula and the Total Diet Study.

4. Thermal paper receipts

• I found no Canadian regulation or binding measure on BPA in thermal paper.
• From canada.ca search snippets only:
  • Health Canada lists thermal paper (receipts, prescription labels, tickets) as a use, and skin contact as a secondary exposure route.
  • The 2020 technical consultation notes that thermal paper has emerged as a common exposure source since the original CMP assessment.
• The issue is being handled through the BPA SAFAs work in section 6 rather than a separate measure.

5. Environmental measures for BPA

• Pollution prevention planning notice for industrial effluents: proposed 16 October 2010 ^[7]; final 14 April 2012 ^[8].
• Other items listed on Health Canada's BPA page ^[4]:
  • an Environmental Performance Agreement on BPA in paper recycling mill effluents (5 March 2013);
  • Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines for BPA;
  • an ecological effectiveness evaluation (3 July 2020);
  • an environmental monitoring summary covering 2004-2018 (26 June 2020).

6. Bisphenols group (BPA SAFAs): current and proposed

• Technical consultation: a proposed subgrouping of BPA SAFAs was published 18 December 2020, with comments closing 17 February 2021 ^[4].
• Mandatory information request: a CEPA section 71 notice covering 188 substances (BPA plus SAFAs) was published 13 November 2021 (Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 155, No. 46). It asked about commercial status, industrial processes and releases, and downstream uses ^[9][4].
• Earlier and current priority status (canada.ca snippets):
  • The 2017-2018 priority-setting review identified 343 BPA analogues and alternatives, plus BPA, for further problem formulation.
  • The group is listed as a priority substance group in the Plan of Priorities under the modernised CEPA.
  • The 2021 data will feed prioritisation, risk assessment and, if needed, risk management.
• Status: I found no draft or final screening assessment and no proposed risk management instrument for the group in the CEPA registry or on official pages. The latest Health Canada BPA timeline entry I found is the November 2021 notice ^[4].

I can also check Health Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist and the permitted food additive lists for BPA or the analogues if that would help.

Sources:

• Bisphenol A (BPA), Health Canada
• Bisphenol A, food packaging materials, Health Canada
• Health Canada's Updated Assessment of BPA Exposure from Food Sources
• BPA structural analogues and functional alternatives, Health Canada
• Technical consultation: proposed subgrouping of BPA SAFAs
• Plan of Priorities: substances prioritized for assessment under CEPA