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PAINT & COATINGS MANUFACTURING:




           NEW VOC LIMITS FOR


           ARCHITECTURAL





           COATINGS IN CANADA




           By Gary LeRoux









































            n March, CPCA made a substantial submission on the federal   OTC Phase II VOC limits. It assessed total VOC emission reductions
            government’s intent to change the VOC limits for architectural   expected from the AIM sector pursuant to the adoption of either U.S.
         Iand industrial maintenance (AIM) product categories sold in   model. At the time, CPCA recommended a phased-in adoption of
         Canada. There are several areas which will be technically problem-  OTC Phase II limits to avoid a hybrid regulatory model. It was also
         atic and could be very disruptive for the Canadian coatings sector. No   noted adopting U.S. rules in Canada would mostly impact specialty
         paint and coatings company in Canada can ignore the upcoming   products that serve specific  functionalities in the preservation of
         challenges these new limits could impose. As such, CPCA recently   public infrastructure, transportation and other critical assets. Cana-
         consulted with member companies again to update the federal gov-  dian SMEs would have a much more difficult time complying with
         ernment on the challenges before the paint industry in this country.   stricter limits than multinationals or U.S.-based companies with ex-
         Earlier this year, CPCA provided members with a questionnaire that   tensive research and development capacity for products already des-
         included a detailed description of the new VOC limits for SCAQMD,   tined for the Californian market, under CARB limits. In effect, they
         CARB 2019 and OTC II, and how they compare with the current   would already be compliant.
         limits in Canada for all categories.                  CPCA was asked to provide more detailed technical information
           Early in 2020, the federal government presented the results of a   on behalf of the Canadian coatings industry for the categories most
         study it had commissioned comparing the actual VOC content in   likely to be impacted. A questionnaire was sent to all CPCA AIM
         products sold in Canada with CARB 2019, SCAQMD limits, and the   members in January 2021. CPCA made it clear to government that
         36            CANADIAN FINISHING & COATINGS MANUFACTURING                                                                                                         MAY/JUNE 2021
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