Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
The Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECSB) mission is to protect the health of Canadians through active prevention, targeted oversight, and timely response by leading research, regulating and managing chemicals, products of biotechnology, radiation, environmental contaminants, workplace hazardous products, consumer products, and cosmetics.
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Responsibilities
Work done within HECSB contributes to protecting the health of Canadians through leading research, prevention and response in the regulation and management of chemicals, products of biotechnology, radiation, environmental contaminants, workplace hazardous products, consumer products, and cosmetics.
Examples of key issues HECSB is responsible for:
- regulating radiation emitting devices
- regulating consumer products, cosmetics, and workplace hazardous materials
- defining and communicating requirements for the manufacture, labelling, distribution and sale of cosmetics, and evaluating compliance
- assessing new substances and products of biotechnology for regulations
- assessing and reducing health risks posed by environmental factors including noise
- promoting consumer awareness of actual and potential product-related hazards
- promoting healthy work environments and delivering occupational health and safety services
- encouraging the design of safer products for the Canadian market
- administering the National Radon Program to help Canadians manage the risk from radon exposure
- coordinating the Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan and leads the federal plan in the event of a nuclear accident, terrorist threat, or a related disaster that could affect Canada or Canadians
- developing science-based Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality
- researching the health impacts of air pollution and developing national standards and guidelines for indoor and outdoor air quality.
Directorates
HECSB is organized into five Directorates, each with responsibilities for a wide variety of policies, programs and services.