Benzene in Gasoline Regulations (SOR/97-493)

Application — Types and Uses of Gasoline

• 2 (1) Subject to sections 7 and 9 to 11, these Regulations do not apply to gasoline for use in

  • (a) aircraft;

  • (b) competition vehicles, provided that the gasoline has an antiknock index of at least 100; or

  • (c) scientific research in Canada.

• (2) Subject to sections 9 to 11, these Regulations do not apply to

  • (a) gasoline in transit through Canada, from a place outside Canada to another place outside Canada, and accompanied by written evidence establishing that the gasoline is in transit; or

  • (b) gasoline produced or sold for export and accompanied by written evidence establishing that the gasoline will be exported.

• (3) Subsection 3(1) and sections 4, 16 and 17 do not apply to U.S. reformulated gasoline or California gasoline.

• (4) Subject to sections 7 and 9 to 13 and subsections 18(4) and 19(3), these Regulations do not apply to gasoline-like blendstock.

• (5) Any batch that is supplied during the summer but is intended for use during the winter in the northern supply area is considered to be supplied during the winter if the primary supplier identifies the batch under subsection 9(1) as northern winter complying gasoline.

• (6) These Regulations do not apply to gasoline that has been stored in the northern supply area for the purpose of providing gasoline to persons in emergency situations if the gasoline was supplied before July 1, 1999 and stored before July 1, 2000.

PART 1Requirements Pertaining to Benzene in Gasoline

Benzene — Prohibition

• 3 (1) Effective July 1, 1999 and subject to section 15, no primary supplier shall supply gasoline that contains benzene at a concentration that exceeds 1.0% by volume.

• (2) No person shall sell or offer for sale gasoline that contains benzene at a concentration that exceeds 1.5% by volume

  • (a) in the northern supply area, effective July 1, 2000;

  • (b) in all areas identified in an application under paragraph 16(3)(b) in respect of which the Minister has authorized the use of a temporary alternative limit, effective April 1, 2000; and

  • (c) in any other area in Canada not described in paragraph (a) and (b), effective October 1, 1999.

Benzene Emissions Number — Prohibition

4 Effective July 1, 1999 and subject to section 15, no primary supplier shall supply gasoline that has a benzene emissions number that exceeds

• (a) 71, in the case of a batch supplied during the summer; and

• (b) 92, in the case of a batch supplied during the winter.

Reference Methods for Sampling and Analysis

• 5 (1) Subject to subsection 6(1), all samples must be taken in accordance with any one of the ASTM International sampling methods specifically set out in section 7 of the National Standard of Canada standard CAN/CGSB-3.5-2016, Automotive gasoline.

• (2) The concentration of benzene and that of aromatics in gasoline referred to in sections 3 and 16 and Schedule 1 must be measured in accordance with the National Standard of Canada method CAN/CGSB-3.0 No. 14.3-2016, Methods of testing petroleum and associated products Standard test method for the identification of components in automotive gasoline using gas chromatography.

• (3) Subject to subsection 6(2), the concentration of olefins in gasoline referred to in Schedule 3 must be measured in accordance with the National Standard of Canada method CAN/CGSB-3.0 No. 14.3-2016, Methods of testing petroleum and associated products Standard test method for the identification of components in automotive gasoline using gas chromatography.

• (4) The concentration of sulphur in gasoline referred to in Schedule 1 must be measured in accordance with the ASTM International method D5453 - 16e1, Standard Test Method for Determination of Total Sulfur in Light Hydrocarbons, Spark Ignition Engine Fuel, Diesel Engine Fuel, and Engine Oil by Ultraviolet Fluorescence.

• (5) The vapour pressure of gasoline at 37.8°C (100°F) referred to in Schedule 1 must be measured in accordance with the ASTM International method D5191 - 15, Standard Test Method for Vapor Pressure of Petroleum Products (Mini Method) and converted to “dry vapor pressure equivalent” as described in that method.

• (6) The evaporative fractions of gasoline at 93.3°C (200°F) and 148.9°C (300°F) referred to in Schedule 1 must be measured in accordance with ASTM International method D86 - 17, Standard Test Method for Distillation of Petroleum Products and Liquid Fuels at Atmospheric Pressure.

• (7) The concentration of oxygen in gasoline referred to in Schedule 1 must be measured in accordance with the National Standard of Canada method CAN/CGSB-3.0 No. 14.3-2016, Methods of testing petroleum and associated products Standard test method for the identification of components in automotive gasoline using gas chromatography.

• (8) The concentration of benzene and that of aromatics in oxygenates referred to in the definition commercially pure oxygenate in subsection 1(1) must be measured in accordance with the National Standard of Canada method CAN/CGSB-3.0 No. 14.3-2016, Methods of testing petroleum and associated products Standard test method for the identification of components in automotive gasoline using gas chromatography.

• (9) The concentration of benzene and that of aromatics in butane referred to in the definition commercially pure butane in subsection 1(1) must be measured in accordance with ASTM International method D2163 - 14e1, Standard Test Method for Determination of Hydrocarbons in Liquefied Petroleum (LP) Gases and Propane/Propene Mixtures by Gas Chromatography.

• (10) The concentration of sulphur in oxygenates referred to in the definition commercially pure oxygenate in subsection 1(1) must be measured in accordance with the ASTM International method D5453 - 16e1, Standard Test Method for Determination of Total Sulfur in Light Hydrocarbons, Spark Ignition Engine Fuel, Diesel Engine Fuel, and Engine Oil by Ultraviolet Fluorescence.

• (11) The concentration of sulphur in butane referred to in the definition commercially pure butane in subsection 1(1) must be measured in accordance with the ASTM International method D6667 - 14, Standard Test Method for Determination of Total Volatile Sulfur in Gaseous Hydrocarbons and Liquefied Petroleum Gases by Ultraviolet Fluorescence.

Equivalent Methods for Sampling and Analysis

• 6 (1) When the sampling method specified in subsection 5(1) cannot be reasonably applied, another sampling method may be used by the primary supplier if, at least 60 days before the use of the method, the primary supplier sends the Minister

  • (a) an explanation of why the method specified in subsection 5(1) cannot be applied;

  • (b) a description of the proposed alternative method; and

  • (c) evidence that demonstrates that the reliability and accuracy of the alternative method are comparable to those of the method specified in subsection 5(1).

• (2) For the purposes of sections 8 and 20, either the normally applicable method specified in one of subsections 5(2) to (7) or an alternative method may be used by the primary supplier on the condition that

  • (a) the equivalency of the alternative method to the normally applicable method be validated in accordance with the ASTM International method D6708 - 16b, Standard Practice for Statistical Assessment and Improvement of Expected Agreement Between Two Test Methods that Purport to Measure the Same Property of a Material, or the ASTM International method D3764 - 15e1, Standard Practice for Validation of the Performance of Process Stream Analyzer Systems; and

  • (b) the primary supplier sends the Minister, at least 60 days before using the alternative method, a description of the alternative method and evidence that demonstrates that it provides results equivalent to those provided by the normally applicable method.

• (3) If the Minister determines that the alternative method is not equivalent to the normally applicable method, the Minister shall reject it and notify the primary supplier to that effect.

Registration

• 7 (1) Every primary supplier must submit the information specified in Schedule 2 to the Minister by the later of

  • (a) November 1, 1998, and

  • (b) 15 days before the primary supplier starts to supply gasoline.

• (2) The Minister must provide each primary supplier with one or more registration numbers based on the information submitted in accordance with subsection (1).

• (3) When the information submitted under subsection (1) changes, other than information on typical annual volumes, the primary supplier must submit the updated information to the Minister within five days after the change.

Report

• 8 (1) Every primary supplier must submit a report to the Minister that is signed by an authorized official of the primary supplier and that contains the information set out in Schedule 3.

• (2) The report must be submitted

  • (a) quarterly, beginning on January 1, 1999 and ending on December 31, 2002, within 45 days after the last day of each calendar quarter during which gasoline was supplied; and

  • (b) annually, beginning on January 1, 2003, on or before February 15 of the year following each year during which gasoline was supplied.

• (3) Despite sections 5 and 6, a record of analysis as required by the Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Standards for Reformulated and Conventional Gasoline, Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations of the United States, Part 80, section 80.74 or 80.104, or as required by The California Reformulated Gasoline Regulations, Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Division 3, Chapter 5, Article 1, Subarticle 2, section 2270, may be used to provide the information on gasoline composition for a report referred to in subsection (1).

• 8.1 (1) Any information, report or notice that is required, or any application that is made, under these Regulations must be sent electronically in the form and format specified by the Minister and must bear the electronic signature of an authorized official.

• (2) If the Minister has not specified an electronic form and format or if it is impractical to send the information, report, notice or application electronically in accordance with subsection (1) because of circumstances beyond the control of the person sending it, they must send it on paper, signed by an authorized official, in the form and format specified by the Minister. However, if no form and format have been so specified, the information may be in any form and format.

Records

• 9 (1) A primary supplier may, before dispatching a batch from a refinery or blending facility or importing a batch, identify the gasoline by recording it as one of the following types:

  • (a) complying gasoline;

  • (b) gasoline for use in aircraft;

  • (c) gasoline for use in competition vehicles;

  • (d) gasoline for use in scientific research;

  • (e) gasoline for export;

  • (f) gasoline in transit through Canada;

  • (g) U.S. reformulated gasoline;

  • (h) California gasoline;

  • (i) gasoline-like blendstock; and

  • (j) northern winter complying gasoline.

• (2) Any batch of gasoline dispatched by a primary supplier from a refinery or blending facility, or imported by a primary supplier, that has not been identified under subsection (1) is considered, for the purposes of these Regulations, to have been identified as complying gasoline.

• (3) Every primary supplier must have a record for each batch it dispatches or imports that includes

  • (a) the type of gasoline as identified under subsection (1), unless it is complying gasoline;

  • (b) the date on which the batch was dispatched or imported;

  • (c) the volume and the grade of each batch; and

  • (d) the name and address of the person to whom the gasoline was sold or the address of the storage facility or refuelling facility to which the gasoline was delivered.

• (4) For each batch of complying gasoline received at a refinery or non-mobile blending facility, every primary supplier must record the name and address of the seller or provider, the date of the purchase or transfer of ownership, and the volume and the grade of the batch.

• (5) Every primary supplier must have written evidence that establishes that each batch identified under subsection (1) as one of the following types of gasoline was sold or delivered for the use appropriate to the identified type:

  • (a) gasoline for use in aircraft;

  • (b) gasoline for use in competition vehicles;

  • (c) gasoline for use in scientific research;

  • (d) gasoline for export; and

  • (e) gasoline in transit through Canada.

• (6) For each batch identified under subsection (1) as U.S. reformulated gasoline or California gasoline, every primary supplier must have written evidence that establishes that the batch meets the compositional requirements for U.S. reformulated gasoline or California gasoline, as the case may be.