Canada Introduces Largest Lead Ban Since 1990

Traffic is seen moving along a road in Vancouver, in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

Canada has passed legislation to ban the manufacture and import of lead wheel weights—the most sweeping lead ban since Parliament prohibited the retail sale of leaded gasoline in the country in 1990.

The Department of Environment and Climate Change said an estimated 110 tonnes of lead from wheel weights fall off tire rims and are released into the environment along Canadian roads every year.

“Wheel weights are installed on the wheels of vehicles to even out the weight distribution around the rim and stabilize vehicles at high speeds. Lead wheel weights routinely fall off and can turn into dust over time. This dust is harmful as it can build up in soil, enter waterways through runoffs, or be inhaled," a Feb. 16 news release said.

“The metal is known to be harmful to the nervous and reproductive systems of both humans and wildlife, and can affect the kidneys and cardiovascular system in humans.”

The news release also announced the Feb. 15 publication of the “Prohibition of the Manufacture and Importation of Wheel Weights Containing Lead Regulations,” as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The regulations state that effective Feb. 3, 2024, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, no one is allowed to manufacture or import wheel balance weights containing more than 0.1 percent lead by weight without a federal permit.

‘No Safe Level’

According to the government’s official newspaper, the Canada Gazette, lead is the most common material used for wheel balancing in the Canadian wheel weight market, and the new rules came about as a result of consultations from 2014 to 2017 with industry and non-governmental and non-profit organizations. Industry stakeholders included  manufacturers, importers and distributors, auto dealers, tire dealers, scrapyard operators, and repair shops, among others.

Laurie Chan, Canada Research Chair in Toxicology and Environmental Health at the University of Ottawa, told Blacklock’s Reporter that his team has learned much more about lead toxicity, particularly around children’s neurodevelopment, in the past decade.

“We now believe there is no safe level of lead. Any level can cause harm to the brain, particularly in young children,” he said.

In 1976, the Canadian government restricted the amount of lead in household paints and other liquid coatings on furniture, household products, children’s products, and other surfaces by 0.5 percent by weight.

In 1990, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, Canada phased out the retail sale of leaded gasoline.

A 2018 study commissioned by the federal Environment Department identified another source of lead poisoning—fishing jigs, sinkers, and ammunition.

Earlier research dating from the 1990s blamed lead jigs for the death of loons in Eastern Canada. Since 1997, cabinet has restricted the use of lead jigs and sinkers by anglers in national parks and wildlife areas.

According to records obtained by Blacklock’s through the Access to Information Act, the Department of Environment in 2017 dropped all proposals to ban lead products used in hunting and fishing.

“The Government of Canada does not currently intend to restrict the use of lead in fishing and hunting activities in Canada,” said a memo titled “Risk Management Strategy For Lead.”

“These are activities under provincial jurisdiction,” the memo said. “Opponents will argue that the higher cost of alternatives will put them out of reach of hunters and anglers who will then stop purchasing and, in some cases, stop fishing and hunting which will trickle down to guides and outfitters.”