The release of four Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines was announced in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on February 23, 2013.

Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines (FEQG) are recommendations in quantitative or qualitative terms to support federal environmental quality monitoring and risk management. FEQGs are set at a concentration so that where the concentration of a given chemical is at or below the FEQG, there is low likelihood of direct adverse effects from the chemical on aquatic life exposed via the water or sediment, or where chemicals may bioaccumulate, in wildlife (birds and mammals) that consume aquatic life.

FEQGs may be used directly as evaluation tools in environmental monitoring to assess whether ambient concentrations of pollutants may pose risks to aquatic life. FEQGs may also be used as risk management tools and targets, as a science-based starting point to derive site-specific effluent limits, risk management targets or performance indicators.

Four Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines on different substances or classes of substances were developed during their risk assessment and risk management cycle:

• Federal Environmental Quality Guideline for Cobalt
• Federal Environmental Quality Guideline for Hydrazine
• Federal Environmental Quality Guideline for Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)
• Federal Environmental Quality Guideline for Alcohol Ethoxylates

For complete information, please consult the Chemical Substances website.

Contact: National Guidelines and Standards Office, CEQG-RCQE@ec.gc.ca, 1-800-567-1999 (in Canada) or 819-953-1550