Canada Department of Environment has approved Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations (SOR/2021-268).

Application
The Regulations apply to the products in Schedule 1 and 2 and contain Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), including:

• Personal care products
• Maintenance products
• Adhesives, adhesive removers, sealants and caulks
• Miscellaneous products

However, it shall not apply to the products that are:

• Designed to be used solely in a manufacturing or processing activity
• To be used solely in a laboratory for analysis, in scientific research or as a laboratory analytical standard
• Regulated under the Pest Control Products Act
• Manufactured or imported for export only
• Adhesives that are to be sold in containers of 30 ml or less
• Regulated under the VOC Concentration Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations or the VOC Concentration Limits for Automotive Refinishing Products Regulations
• Used in or on a new car at the time of its manufacture
• In transit through Canada, from a place outside Canada to another place outside Canada

Prohibition
Products in Schedule 1 and 2 that contain more than the maximum VOC concentration shall not be manufactured or imported, with some exemptions.

Labelling
Manufacture date shall be marked on the container of the products in Schedule 1 and 2. VOC concentration of the products in Schedule 1 ≤ 0.1% and volume of personal fragrance product ≤ 2 ml shall be exempted from the labelling requirement.

Instruction
If a product is authorized to be manufactured or imported by a permit, the product shall have instructions for use. The instruction shall be in both official languages.

Effective date
The prohibitions for all products categories shall apply on 1 January 2024, except for the prohibitions of disinfectant, it shall apply on 1 January 2025.

The Regulations also mention other requirements like test method of VOC concentration, VOC Compliance Unit Trading System, application of permit and record keeping.

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