PRESS Release: PMRA has Reinstated the Use of OIT in Paint and Coatings Products
October 30, 2020 Ottawa, ON: CPCA was pleased to learn that the federal government’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) reinstated the use of OIT for paint and coatings and related products in Canada. The decision to reverse the recent ban will ensure that paint products and stains will have access to a biocide preservative commonly used by industry for many years, which is still used in other countries. It is a critical ingredient used for the preservation of paint and stains and integral to the transition from solvent to water-based coatings over the past several years. Furthermore, it supports industry’s ongoing efforts to produce paint products with much lower volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions during paint application and drying.
The reduction in VOC emissions from architectural coatings in Canada has exceeded 95 percent in a few short years and ensures that leftover paint can continue to be recycled under existing product stewardship programs across Canada, which exceeded 28 million kilograms in 2019, 100% of which is paid for by the paint manufacturers.
Gary LeRoux, CPCA’s President and CEO, commented that, “This decision will support industry’s ongoing innovation efforts and will ensure consumers can continue to use paint products with the level of performance they have come to expect from strong, recognizable brands sold by CPCA members across Canada.” It confirms the Canadian paint industry’s commitment to the safety of its products and extended product stewardship in a circular economy.
CPCA argued strenuously that further data be reviewed before the previous ban was issued and we are pleased that it was done, confirming the importance of evidenced-basis data for informed decision-making. As a result of this recent announcement OIT will be available to CPCA members and the entire paint manufacturing industry in Canada in the coming years. It will be aligned with the current status of OIT in the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner. Greater alignment with the US EPA in two highly integrated economies is critical, and only heightened by the fact that there are increasingly fewer biocides available for in-can and dry-film preservation for paint and coatings and allied products in Canada.
All the available data must be fully considered when making re-evaluation decisions on critical inputs for the coatings industry, which clearly has far reaching consequences on product integrity, product selection and price, Canadian trade and manufacturing, and sustainability overall.