Question Period Note: CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS IN MUNICIPAL BIOSOLIDS IMPORTED FROM THE UNITED-STATES

Q1 – What is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency doing to protect animals and the food chain from contaminants in biosolids? Q2 – Has the Government of Canada formulated a risk management plan to mitigate risks posed by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)? Q3 – How are biosolids imported from the United States to Quebec and New Brunswick regulated?

R1 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, along with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada have evaluated the level of risk posed by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) biosolids applied to land as commercial fertilizers.
Based on our risk assessment, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is engaging with industry and provinces and territories to advance the implementation of an interim standard that will help protect food and feed from highly contaminated biosolids. R2 - In May 2023, Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada published a draft Report on the State of Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including risk management options, in Canada Gazette, Part I which launched a 60-day public consultation.
Comments from the consultation will be taken in to consideration as the report and risk management approach is now complete and will soon be published. R3 - All provinces including New Brunswick and Quebec are responsible for regulating the manufacture, use and disposal of municipal biosolids, including their application to agricultural land. On February 24, 2023, the Government of Québec published proposed regulations to ban the use of imported biosolids on agricultural lands.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for regulating biosolids imported as commercial fertilizers. It will continue working with provincial government departments to develop a coordinated approach to protect the safety of Canadians while continuing to support the needs of our agricultural sector.

What are biosolids?
Biosolids result from the treatment of municipal sewage in a wastewater treatment facility. When treated to reduce pathogens and applied at the right rate, right place, and right time, they can be a beneficial source of nutrients and organic matter in agriculture. Such beneficial practices also divert organic waste from landfills and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Approximately 660,000 dry-tons of biosolids are produced annually in Canada. Biosolids can have multiple use but about half of what is produced in Canada is land-applied (including use in agriculture).
Effective management of biosolids includes controlling where waste comes from (differentiating between industry and house-hold waste, and removing heavily contaminated sources), proper treatment and managed conditions for land application.

What are PFAS?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 4,700 human-made substances that are used as surfactants, lubricants, repellents (for dirt, water, and grease). They can be found in certain firefighting foams, textiles (including carpets, furniture, and clothing), cosmetics, and in food packaging materials.
Based on what is known about these substances and the potential for PFAS substances to behave similarly as well as the expectation that combined exposures to multiple PFAS increase the likelihood of detrimental impacts, the government is proposing that this class of substances is a concern for human health and the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. This designation would allow the government to implement additional regulatory controls on the use of these substances.
With respect to biosolids, PFAS are not used or added in the production of biosolids. However, due to their wide-spread use, PFAS can now be detected in air, surface water, groundwater, wildlife, fish and human tissues. Therefore, their presence in household and industrial municipal waste is unavoidable. For this reason, PFAS can present as contaminants in biosolids.
Therefore, controlling what goes into the municipal sewage system is the most effective means of managing the level of PFAS contamination in biosolids. The level of contamination can be managed through controls at the source, regulatory standards and limits and appropriate import and use restrictions.

Regulatory landscape
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC):
The manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale and import of certain Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) [perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs)] and products that contain them, are prohibited in Canada through the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, with some exemptions.
In May 2022, proposed regulations were published that would further restrict these groups of substances by removing or providing time-limits for most remaining exemptions. The publication of the final regulations is expected to take place in late 2023.
In May 2023, Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada published in the Canada Gazette, Part I (CGI), the draft State of Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Report, and the risk management scope for PFAS, launching a 60-day public consultation. The Report proposes that the class of PFAS is harmful to human health and the environment, and the risk management scope proposes actions to reduce human and environmental exposures to PFAS.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA): The CFIA is currently developing the capacity to monitor fertilizers and supplements for their PFAS content. The CFIA intends to adopt an interim standard of less than 50 ppb of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) as an indicator in imported and domestic biosolids used as fertilizers. This approach is similar to the State of Michigan’s approach for materials that can be used on land without restrictions.
Provinces/Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME): CCME, as well as individual provinces are focused on implementing standards for PFAS in soil and drinking water – there are, as or yet, no standards specific to biosolids. The CFIA is working with provinces so that any provincial standards are based on the same science and that the risk management is aligned.
Province of Quebec: Due to the recent ban on land application of biosolids in the State of Maine, the volume of municipal biosolids imported into Canada has increased and the majority (86%) of these shipments appear to be destined for the province of Quebec. On February 24, 2023, the Government of Quebec announced a moratorium on the agricultural application of biosolid fertilizers imported from the United States. The prohibition is intended to be a transitional measure until a standard is in place to ensure that municipal biosolids generated outside of Canada have low enough levels of PFAS.
US EPA: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of conducting a risk assessment specific to PFAS in biosolids. They are targeting December 2024 for completing and publishing their assessment.
PFAS in biosolids – state-by-state: Fertilizers are regulated on a state-by-state basis in the US (not federally). This has resulted in a diverse range of approaches in the US ranging from inaction to a complete ban of land application of biosolids.
Some examples include:
• Maine: following several cases of farmland and animals severely impacted by the spread of PFAS-contaminated biosolids, Maine announced very strict rules for PFAS which effectively placed a ban on the application of biosolids to land in April 2022.
• Michigan: the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy published an interim approach to PFAS that limits the use of biosolids based on their level of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) contamination (PFOA is a common type of PFAS found in biosolids and has been extensively studied). Producers of biosolids are required to test their products.
• Washington State: The Department of the Environment reviews all applications involving waste-derived materials and conducts risk assessments for their application to land. The result of the assessment is either a rejection or an approval for use with conditions.

Government of Canada Action Plan on Biosolids:
Domestic and international jurisdictions are closely monitoring scientific developments in the area of PFAS contamination in biosolids.
As part of the Government of Canada’s broader suit of actions, the CFIA is working closely with domestic and international stakeholders to protect humans, plants, animals, and the environment.
Any regulatory action on biosolids must be carefully considered in the context of available science and the level of reported risk as well as any potential negative impacts on the waste diversion sector. This includes treatment facilities, generators and processors, landfill operators and ultimately farmers who use these products to offset the rising fertilizer cost and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The CFIA will continue to work with its federal partners (ECCC and HC), provincial counterparts (CCME, Provincial Ministries of Environment) and international counterparts (US EPA, state officials in the US) to ensure up-to-date science is available and to coordinate standards and, as appropriate, land application restrictions

• The Government is committed to protecting the health of Canadians, the environment and the economy.

• Municipal biosolids imported or sold as commercial fertilizers are regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

• When treated and applied properly, biosolids can be a beneficial source of nutrients and organic matter in agriculture, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.