Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
PROPOSED ELEMENTS FOR REGULATIONS LIMITING THE CONTENT OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) IN AUTOMOTIVE REFINISH COATINGS AND SURFACE CLEANERS
(Note: This document is not intended to provide the legal version of the regulatory text, but rather to outline the proposed elements for the Regulations.)


1. Definitions


1. The following definitions apply in these Regulations.
“adhesion promoter” means a coating, which is labelled and formulated to be applied to uncoated plastic surfaces to facilitate bonding of subsequent coatings, and on which, a subsequent coating is applied.
“aerosol coating” means a pressurized coating product containing pigments or resins that dispenses product ingredients by means of a propellant, and is packaged in a disposable can for hand-held application.
“assembly line” means an arrangement of industrial equipment and workers in which the product passes from one specialized operation to another until complete, by either automatic or manual means.
“associated parts and components” means structures, devices, pieces, modules, sections, assemblies, subassemblies, or elements of motor vehicles or mobile equipment that are designed to be a part of motor vehicles or mobile equipment but which are not attached to motor vehicles or mobile equipment at the time of coating the structure, device, piece, module, section, assembly, subassembly, or element. The Associated parts and components definition does not include circuit boards.
“automotive refinish coating component” means any portion of a coating, including, but not limited to, a reducer or thinner, toner, hardener, and additive, which is recommended by any person to distributors or end users for use in an automotive coating, or which is used in an automotive coating. The raw materials used to produce the components are not considered automotive coating components.
“automotive refinish coating” means any coating or coating component used or recommended for use in motor vehicle or mobile equipment refinishing, service, maintenance, repair, restoration, or modification, except metal plating activities. Any reference to automotive refinishing or automotive coating made by a person on the container or in product literature constitutes a recommendation for use in motor vehicle or mobile equipment refinishing.
“coating” means a material which is applied to a surface and forms a film in order to beautify, preserve, repair, or protect such a surface.
“clear coating” means any coating that contains no pigments and is labelled and formulated for application over a color coating or clear coating.
“colour coating” means any pigmented coating, excluding adhesion promoters, primers, and multi-color coatings, that requires a subsequent clear coating and which is applied over a primer or adhesion promoter. Color coatings include metallic or iridescent color coatings.
“container” means the individual receptacle that holds a coating or coating component for storage or distribution.
“Group I vehicles and equipment” means large-sized trucks, buses, and mobile equipment.
“Group II vehicles” means passenger cars, small-sized trucks and vans, medium-sized trucks and vans, motor homes, and motorcycles.
“hardener” means a coating component specifically designed to promote a faster cure of an enamel finish.
“metallic or iridescent single stage coating” means any coating that contains more than 5 grams per litre (0.042 pounds per gallon) of metal or iridescent particles as applied, where such particles are visible in the dried film. The metallic content of a metallic or iridescent colour coating shall be determined using South Coast Air Quality Management District 318-95, “Determination of Weight Percent Elemental Metal in Coatings by X-ray” (July 1996).
“mobile equipment” means any equipment that is physically capable of being driven or drawn upon a highway including, but not limited to, the following types of equipment: construction vehicles (such as mobile cranes, bulldozers, concrete mixers); farming equipment (wheel tractor, plough, pesticide sprayer); hauling equipment (truck trailers, utility bodies, camper shells); and miscellaneous equipment (street cleaners, golf carts).
“motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, buses, golf carts, vans, motorcycles, tanks, and armoured personnel carriers.
“multi-color coating” means any coating that exhibits more than one color in the dried film after a single application, is packaged in a single container, and hides surface defects on areas of heavy use, and which is applied over a primer or adhesion promoter.
“pre-treatment coating” means any coating that contains a minimum of one-half (0.5) percent acid by weight and not more than 16 percent solids by weight necessary to provide surface etching and is labelled and formulated for application directly to bare metal surfaces to provide corrosion resistance and adhesion. The acid content of a pre-treatment coating shall be determined using reference method ASTM Method D-1613-03 “Standard Test Method for Acidity in Volatile Solvents and Chemical Intermediates Used in Paint, Varnish, Lacquer, and Related Products” (October 2003).
“primer” means a coating applied for purposes of corrosion resistance or adhesion of subsequent coatings.
“primer sealer” means a coating applied prior to the application of a topcoat for the purpose of color uniformity, or to promote the ability of an underlying coating to resist penetration by the topcoat.
“primer surfacer” means a coating applied for the purpose of corrosion resistance or adhesion, and which promotes a uniform surface by filling in surface imperfections.
“reducer” means any solvent used to thin enamels.
“single-stage coating” means any pigmented coating, excluding primers and multi-color coatings, labelled and formulated for application without a subsequent clear coat. Single-stage coatings include single-stage metallic or iridescent colour coatings.
“surface cleaner” means a material used for surface preparation to remove foreign matter and contaminants such as wax, tar, grease and silicones from the surface being coated. This definition excludes solvents used for cleaning equipment.
“temporary protective coating” means any coating which is labelled and formulated for the purpose of temporarily protecting areas from overspray or mechanical damage.
“thinner” means any solvent used to reduce the viscosity or solids content of a coating.
“truck-bed liner coating” means any coating, excluding color, multi-color, and single stage coatings, labelled and formulated for application to a truck bed to protect it from surface abrasion.
“underbody coating” means any coating labelled and formulated for application to wheel wells, the inside of door panels or fenders, the underside of a trunk or hood, or the underside of the motor vehicle.
“uniform finish coating” means any coating labelled and formulated for application to the area around a repair for the purpose of blending a repaired area’s color or clear coat to match the appearance of the surrounding area’s existing coating.
“volatile organic compound (VOC)” is as defined in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).


2. Application


2. Application.
(1) Except as provided in subsection 2(2), these regulations apply to any person who manufactures, sells, offers for sale, or imports any automotive refinish coating set out in Column 1 of Table 1, or surface cleaner which contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and are for use or sale within Canada.
Exemptions. (2) These regulations do not apply to:
(a) any automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner that is sold, or manufactured for use outside of Canada or for shipment to other manufacturers for reformulation or repackaging;
(b) any automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner in an aerosol container;
(c) any automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner that is sold, supplied or offered for sale in a container with a volume of 0.5 fluid ounces or less intended to be used by the general public to repair tiny surface imperfections; and
(d) any automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner applied to motor vehicles or mobile equipment, or their associated parts and components, during manufacture on an assembly line.


3. VOC Content Limits


3. Requirements.
(1) No person shall manufacture, sell, offer for sale or import any automotive refinish coating set out in Column 1 of Table 1, if the concentration of VOC in the product exceeds, when applied as supplied or thinned or reduced according to the manufacturer or importer’s recommendation for application, the VOC content limit set out in Column 2 of Table 1.
Table 1: Coating Categories, VOC Content Limits and Effective Dates1

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Coating category VOC content limit less water and less exempt compounds (grams per litre) Effective date
Adhesion promoter 540January 1, 2010
Clear coating250 January 1, 2009
Colour coating420 January 1, 2009
Multi-colour coating680 January 1, 2009
Pre-treatment coating660 January 1, 2009
Primers and primer surfacers250 January 1, 2009
Primer sealers January 1, 2009
• for Group I vehicles and equipment 250
• for Group II vehicles340
Single-stage coating January 1, 2009
• metallic / iridescent420
• general340
Temporary protective coating60 January 1, 2009
Truck-bed liner coating310 January 1, 2009
Underbody coating430 January 1, 2009
Uniform finish coating540 January 1, 2009
Any other coating type2 250January 1, 2009
1 If a regulated entity recommends that its coating component(s) be combined with coating components of another manufacturer or importer that is also regulated, and if the coating resulting from such a combination does not comply with the VOC content limit in Column 2 of Table 1, then the regulated entity is out of compliance by its recommending the combination of coating components. If the manufacturer or importer does not make the recommendation of such use of the coating components, then that manufacturer or importer is not out of compliance for purposes of that coating.
2 The VOC content of an automotive refinish coating not meeting the definition of any category included in Column 1 of Table 1 shall be classified as “any other coating type” with the corresponding VOC content limit set out in Column 2 of Table 1.

Most Restrictive VOC Content Limit. (2) If anywhere on the container of any automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner, or in any sales, advertising, or technical literature supplied by the manufacturer or importer or anyone acting on their behalf, any representation is made that indicates that the coating falls within the definition of more than one of the coating categories set out in Column 1 of Table 1, then the most restrictive VOC content limit shall apply.
Surface Cleaner. (3) No person shall manufacture, sell, offer for sale or import any surface cleaner, if the concentration of VOC in the product exceeds 50 grams per litre, when applied as supplied or thinned or reduced according to the manufacturer or importer’s recommendation for application.


4. VOC Content Determination


4. VOC Content of Automotive Refinish Coatings.
(1) The concentration of VOC of an automotive refinish coating shall be determined as described in subsection 4(2), as applicable.
(2) The VOC content in grams of VOC per litre of coating, which when applied as supplied or thinned or reduced according to the manufacturer or importer’s recommendation for application, excluding the volume of any water and exempt compounds, shall be calculated using equation (1) as follows:
VOC Content of Coatings = (Ws - Ww - Wec) / (Vm - Vw - Vec)...................(Equation 1)

Where:
VOC Content = grams of VOC per litre of coating
Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams
Ww = weight of water, in grams
Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams
Vm = volume of coating, in litres
Vw = volume of water, in litres
Vec = volume of exempt compounds, in litres
VOC Content of Surface Cleaners. (3) The concentration of VOC of a surface cleaner shall be determined as described in subsection 4(4), as applicable.
(4) The VOC content in grams of VOC per litre of surface cleaner, which when applied as supplied or thinned or reduced according to the manufacturer’s recommendation for application, excluding the volume of any water and exempt compounds, shall be calculated using equation (2) as follows:
VOC Content of Surface Cleaner = (Ws - Ww - Wec) / Vm .........................(Equation 2)

Where:
VOC Content = grams of VOC per litre of material
Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams
Ww = weight of water, in grams
Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams
Vm = volume of material, in litres


5. Test Method


5. VOC Content.
(1) The VOC content of automotive refinish coatings or surface cleaners, as specified in section 4, shall be determined using reference method U.S. EPA Method 24 of Appendix A, US 40 Code of Federal Register, Part 60, “Determination of Volatile Matter Content, Water Content, Density, Volume Solids, and Weight Solids of Surface Coatings”.


6. Labelling Requirements


6.
(1) The manufacturer and importer of any automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner to which these regulations apply, shall include the following information on the coating container in which the coating is sold or distributed:
(a) the applicable use category(ies);
(b) the VOC content of the coating, displayed in units of grams per litre of coating; and
(c) the day, month, year on which the product was manufactured, or a code indicating such a date.


7. Record Keeping


7.
(1) Each manufacturer and importer of an automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner to which these regulations apply, shall maintain a record in Canada, for a period of five years after the date on which the record was made, which includes:
(a) each product by name (and identifying number, if applicable) as shown on the product label and in applicable sales and technical literature;
(b) the applicable coating category as set out in Column 1 of Table 1, or if the product is a surface cleaner, the text “surface cleaner”;
(c) the VOC content in grams per litre;
(d) the name(s) and Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) Registry number of the VOC constituents in the product;
(e) the names and CAS number of any VOC exempt compounds in the product; and
(f) the dates of the VOC content determinations.
These records shall be provided to the Minister upon request.
(2) Each manufacturer and importer of [an] automotive refinish coating or surface cleaner to which these regulations apply shall provide to the Minister upon request, an explanation of each date code, if such codes are used to represent the date of manufacture, as provided on the product label.
(3) The information required to be kept by the manufacturer or importer shall be kept at their principal place of business in Canada or at any other place in Canada where the information can be inspected. If those records are kept at any place other than the person’s principal place of business, the person shall provide the Minister with the civic address of the place where they are kept.
(4) The person shall keep the required information in writing or in an electronic format that is compatible with the one that is specified by the Minister.


8. Coming into Force


8.
(1) The effective date of these regulations is as per Column 3 of Table 1.