Reducing PFAS risks in the workplace

Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are coming under increasing scrutiny and regulation in Canada due to their impacts on human and environmental health. 

Below we explain what these chemical substances are, what types of products PFAS are found in, how they affect human health, how they are regulated in Canada, and how to identify products containing PFAS in your workplace.

What are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of human-made chemicals that are widely used as coatings, detergents, lubricants, and stain or liquid repellants in a variety of consumer products and industrial applications since the 1950s.

PFAS are known as ‘forever chemicals” as they are extremely slow to break down and therefore have long-lasting effects on the environment. As a result, they can accumulate in natural resources such as drinking water, soil, and air, and also be found in household dust and food, leading to potential long-term human and environmental exposure.

According to Public Health Ontario, all Canadians are exposed to some PFAS and population-based biomonitoring data are available via the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

What types of products contain PFAS?

Their high resiliency to heat, physical and chemical damage as well as dirt, oil and water repellency, make PFAS very attractive for products such as: 

• Firefighting foams 
• Cardboard coatings
• Outdoor equipment
• Cookware
• Food packaging materials
• Drugs (including natural health products and non-prescription drugs)
• Medical devices
• Cosmetics 
• Pesticides 
• Fabrics (carpets, furniture and clothing)
• Vehicles 
• Electronics
• Paints, coatings and building materials
• Cleaning products, waxes and polishes
• Plastics and metal production

How PFAS affect human and environmental health

PFAS are well absorbed by humans but poorly eliminated, meaning that they can accumulate in our bodies over time. Animal based studies have found that high levels are associated with health effects, impacting:

• the liver, kidney and thyroid
• metabolism and body weight
• immune and nervous systems
• development and reproductive system

PFAS are also of concern due to how they persist in the environment, contaminating drinking water sources and affecting the health of wildlife.

PFAS regulation in Canada

In March 2025, the Government of Canada published the State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report and announced several steps to address the risks that PFAS pose.

This includes a proposal to add the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, to Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). 

The Government also outlined steps to “prioritize the protection of health and the environment while considering factors such as the availability of alternatives.”

The proposed approach has 3 phases:

• Phase 1: Address PFAS in firefighting foams (not currently regulated), due to high potential for environmental and human exposure
• Phase 2: Address the uses of PFAS in consumer products where alternatives exist, such as certain textiles, ski waxes, building materials, and food packaging materials
• Phase 3: Evaluate sectors requiring further consideration through stakeholder engagement and further assessments

National Pollutant Release Inventory

Starting in 2025, 163 PFAS will be added to the National Pollutant Release Inventory to enhance understanding of their use and impacts. 

“Beginning in 2025, the Government of Canada will also require manufacturing and other facilities to report the use of PFAS to the National Pollutant Release Inventory. This data will improve understanding of how PFAS are used in Canada, help evaluate possible industrial PFAS contamination, and support efforts to reduce environmental and human exposure to harmful substances,” according to a press release issued March 5.

PFAS in drinking water

The government has also developed an objective of 30 nanograms per litre (ng/L) for a sum of 25 specific PFAS measured in drinking water. 

To help accomplish this, “In June 2024, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency published an interim standard to limit the amount of PFAS in biosolids sold or imported as fertilizers. All domestic and imported biosolids intended for use as commercial fertilizers must have less than 50 parts per billion of perflurooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), a chemical in the PFAS class,” according to a backgrounder from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Also see the Government of Canada document: Objective for Canadian drinking water quality- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

PFAS reporting requirements

The Government of Canada has also set new reporting requirements for Canadian businesses.

In 2024, the government published a notice with respect to certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that requires manufacturers to report on quantities of 312 PFAS manufactured, imported, used, or exported.

The notice applied to any user of PFAS in Canada that met the following thresholds in the 2023 calendar year:

• Manufactured more than 1,000 grams of a listed PFAS.
• Imported more than 10 grams of a listed PFAS from Part 1 of Schedule 1, or more than 100 kilograms from Parts 2 or 3.
• Used more than 10 grams of a listed PFAS in manufacturing processes.
• Imported more than 100 kilograms of a listed PFAS at a concentration of 1 ppm or more in a manufactured item.

The deadline for responding to the notice was Jan. 29, 2025, and the Government is currently compiling the responses received.

Controlling and preventing PFAS exposures

The first step to controlling and preventing PFAS exposures is to identify products containing them. 

That can be a difficult task given that there are thousands of PFAS substances in existence.

For example, Schedule 1 of the Government of Canada PFAS notice lists 312 chemicals for reporting purposes, and even that is a huge hill to climb without software to give you a hand.

Since the reporting threshold is very low (10 g of a substance in Part 1 of Schedule 1), and "whether the substance was alone, or at a concentration equal to or above 1 ppm in a mixture or in a product", you’d need to cross reference all the chemicals listed in Schedule 1 against all the ingredients in Section 3 of your safety data sheets for every chemical product you use.

Pinpoint PFAS products with SDS RiskAssist

Fortunately, there is a far easier, more effective way to identify products containing PFAS in the workplace: subscribers to SDS RiskAssist’s SDS management platform simply access the ‘Assess Hazards’ tools and click on our “Canada’s CEPA PFAS Reporting Schedule 1, Parts 1, 2 & 3 lists of substances”  list to instantly see which products in your chemical collection have PFAS (or PFCS) ingredients.

One manufacturer's experience

Just ask our client Belleville’s GH Manufacturing. One of their customers, a global consumer packaged goods company, recently requested PFAS reporting and compliance from their organization. GH quickly got in touch with SDS RiskAssist for support, and we activated the tool in their account.

“SDS RiskAssist quickly identified any PFAS exposure in our operations. We were able to ensure compliance and confidently respond to our customer. The platform has proven itself once again as an essential tool for success in today’s complex regulatory environment.”

— Kim Egan, Executive VP and CFO of GH Manufacturing

Additional identification and compliance reporting tools

Canada’s CEPA PFAS Reporting Schedule 1, Parts 1, 2 & 3 lists of substances are a few of the more than 70 chemical groups built into our SDS software to make it easy for you to identify high-risk products and compliance reporting. Our lists also include:

• Asthmagens
• Substances known to cause allergic contact dermatitis
• Common chemical reactions
• Greenhouse gases
• Volatile organic compounds, etc.
• CTS (Canada Toxic Substances regulation list - Canadian regulation - 213 ingredients that people are required to report)
• National pollutant release inventory index list (6 parts), and more.
• Customized lists that are client-specific (i.e., prohibited substances on site)

If you need help with PFAS reporting or other hazard identification challenges, please contact us.