EFC was very successful last week to convince the “Standing Committee on Use and Egress” (SCUE) of the Canadian National Building Code (NBC) to send the Code change proposal back to the responsible task force to be reworked and resubmitted for consideration in the next NBC scheduled for 2015.

EFC/EEMAC members had brought their concerns forward noting the proposed change would not only be an unfair and unequal treatment of competing electrical and photoluminescent technologies, but also result in a significant reduction in safety of building occupants in many emergency situations. Our lighting committee asked EFC to become engaged in the Code revision process.

The main essence of the concern was the removal of the NBC 2010 code requirement for all signs to be ‘continuously illuminated’.  The problem being this requirement was not replaced by an alternative technology neutral measureable performance objective to provide an equivalent look, colour and appearance, and equally important consistent level of contrasting visibility, legibility under all anticipated lighting conditions. This is particularly important considering Canada is still transitioning from the textual Exit/Sortie signage to the international ISO graphically ‘running man’ symbol on a green background, where different signs could promote occupant uncertainty and confusion resulting in hesitation, extending the time to exit a building thus increasing risk of exposure to multiple hazards or worse. For further information, contact Bill Bryans.

Subject: Important information about “Phase 2” of the RecycFluo program – Component lamps

Effective July 14, 2013, “phase 2” of the RecycFluo program in Quebec will begin. The purpose of this notice is to inform you about the potential obligations for your company, suppliers and/or customers.

The current RecycFluo program only captures replacement mercury-containing lamps sold individually to the residential, institutional, commercial and industrial sectors in Quebec, in response to the requirements of the Regulation respecting the recovery and reclamation of products by enterprises (“the Regulation”). Effective July 14, 2013, the requirements of the Regulation extend to include “component” mercury-containing lamps sold integrated into products such as lighting fixtures, automobiles, tools etc. and other products not already captured by the Regulation.  These component lamps are included whether or not the lamp can be removed by the end-user from the product in which it is integrated. For more information, please refer to Chapter II, Section 3 of the Regulation or pages 19 to 23 of the Regulation Guidelines.

Consequently, all “brand owners/first suppliers” (including manufacturers, distributors and retailers) selling products in Quebec that include mercury-containing lamps as a component (lighting fixtures, etc.) are required either to operate or join an accredited program such as RecycFluo by July 14, 2013.

The current RecycFluo program is funded by eco-fees applied to the individual sales of new replacement mercury-containing lamps. Fees are remitted to the program by members and are used to fund all program costs, including the collection and recycling of end-of-life products. After July 14, 2013 eco-fees will also apply to component mercury-containing lamps sold integrated into products (for convenience, the date at which fees will apply will be August 1, 2013). For example, a member selling a lighting fixture containing two CFLs would be required to report and remit to the program two CFL fees on the sale of that fixture. Please note that electronic products currently covered by the Regulation including computers, printers and cameras, which contain mercury-containing lamps, are not impacted by the RecycFluo program. This category of products is managed by programs such as the Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA) program in Quebec.

Product Care Association (PCA) is in the process of identifying potentially obligated products, members and enterprises.  PCA is also in the process of developing fee rates for component mercury-containing lamps which will be in effect as of August 1, 2013. We will be holding a series of conference calls in the near future to discuss these issues further with our members and potential members.

In the meantime, we encourage all members and potentially obligated enterprises (e.g. fixture manufacturers) to begin the process of identifying the products they sell that contain mercury-containing lamps, and the number and type of mercury lamps (e.g. CFL vs HID) in those products.  Please pass on this notice to any suppliers and/or customers of these products.

If you are a company referred to the Regulation, you must provide the Ministère du Développement Durable, de l’Environnement, Faune et Parcs (MDDEFP) by April 14, 2013 a notice of intent specifying that you either join the program of PCA, or set up your own program.

For more information or to obtain a notice of intent for the MDDEFP please contact Louis Duvivier at the details below.  If you determine that you are not obligated under the QC Regulation for these products, we request that you email and advise us of the basis for your decision.

For more information, contact Wayne Edwards at wedwards@electrofed.com 

Murray Chamney, Intralec Electrical Products Ltd. was presented with the Ganzenmuller Electrical Marketing (GEM) Award at the NEMRA Conference in Chicago earlier this month. Murray is the first Canadian to win this award!

This award is named after George Ganzenmuller, who was editor of Electrical Wholesaling Magazine for 30 years. The GEM Award is presented to executives from electrical representative firms whose “business careers exemplify the integrity and fairness that George stood for during his years in the electrical industry,” as stated by Jim Lucy, who awarded Murray with this honour.

Murray Chamney (left) presented with GEM Award