Toxic Substances Management Policy (TSMP)
             The federal government's Toxic Substances Management Policy was
             announced in Parliament on June 2, 1995. This policy provides a
             science-based framework for the management of toxic substances. The key
             management objectives in the policy are:
             virtual elimination of releases to the environment of toxic substances
             that are persistent and bioaccumulative and are present in the
             environment primarily due to human activity (Track 1); and
             management of other toxic substances and substances of concern
             throughout their life cycles to prevent or minimize their release into the
             environment (Track 2).
             For substances declared to be toxic under CEPA, the policy provides
             directional guidance in selecting management objectives.
             The Toxic Substances Management Policy Interdepartmental Forum,
             representing 12 key departments, co-ordinates the implementation of the
             TSMP. The initial list of 12 substances which meet the criteria for
             management under Track 1 of TSMP was published in Part 1 of the Canada
             Gazette on July 4, 1998. They are:
             hexachlorobenzene (HCB)
             polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
             polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs)
             polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)
             All 12 substances are persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, which also
             enter the Canadian environment from foreign sources through long-range
             atmospheric transport. Within Canada, action has alr...