New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) (SOR/2005-247)

1 A cationic polymer or a polymer that is reasonably expected to become cationic in a natural aquatic environment, except

• (a) a polymer whose cationic group has a combined equivalent weight greater than 5 000 daltons; or

• (b) a polymer that is a solid material, that is not soluble or dispersible in water and that will be used only in the solid phase, such as polymers that can be used as ion exchange beads.

2 A polymer that is designed, or can be expected, to substantially degrade, decompose or depolymerize, including polymers that could substantially degrade, decompose or depolymerize after manufacture and use, even though they are not intended to do so. Degradation, decomposition and depolymerization refer to the types of changes that convert a polymeric substance into simpler, smaller substances, through processes including but not limited to oxidation, hydrolysis, attack by solvents, heat, light and microbial action.

3 A polymer that has, as an integral part of its composition, only one or none of the following atomic elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon and sulphur.

4 A polymer that has

• (a) any atomic elements other than carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulphur, fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine covalently bound to carbon;

• (b) any monoatomic counterions other than chlorine ion, bromine ion, iodine ion, sodium ion, divalent magnesium, trivalent aluminium, potassium ion or divalent calcium; or

• (c) 0.2% or more by weight of any atomic element or combination of the following atomic elements: lithium, boron, phosphorus, titanium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc, tin or zirconium.

5 A polymer

• (a) that has reactive functional groups other than carboxylic acid groups, aliphatic hydroxyl groups, unconjugated olefinic groups that are considered “ordinary”Footnote ^*, butenedioic acid groups, blocked isocyanates including ketoxime-blocked isocyanates, thiols, unconjugated nitrile groups, halogens excluding reactive halogen groups such as benzylic or allylic halides, and conjugated olefinic groups present in naturally occurring fats, oils and carboxylic acids, in combined equivalent weights of less than 5 000 daltons; or

• (b) in which the only reactive functional groups present are part of acid halides, acid anhydrides, aldehydes, hemiacetals, methylol-amides, methylol-amines, methylol-ureas, alkoxysilanes with alkoxy greater than C2-alkoxysilanes, allyl ethers, conjugated olefins, cyanates, epoxides, imines, unsubstituted positions ortho or para to phenolic hydroxyl, in combined equivalent weights of less than 1 000 daltons.

• Return to footnote ^*Not specially activated either by being part of a larger functional group, such as a vinyl ether, or by other activating influences, for example, strongly electron-withdrawing sulfone group with which the olefinic groups interact.