How Canada Regulates 3D Printing for Health and Safety

3D printing has evolved from hobbyist workshops to industrial production lines and classrooms across Canada. As the technology continues to evolve, it has changed how Canadians design and build. However, as this tech becomes more accessible, so does the awareness of its potential invisible hazards that can accompany it. Behind the hum of 3D printers in labs and factories, federal regulators are working to ensure that progress is not achieved at the expense of public health or worker safety. While 3D printing has long often been celebrated for reducing waste, enabling on-demand production, and increasing customisation, the process itself can expose users to fine dust, organic compounds, and reactive materials. Health Canada (HC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) are now playing a key role in setting the expectations that guide safe additive manufacturing practices across the provinces and territories. We reached out to these government agencies to understand how they create and evolve their regulations and recommendations.

Addressing a New Kind of Industrial Risk

Canada’s interest in regulating 3D printing health and safety began as the technology became more widely accessible and prevalent in workplaces and classrooms. Early research showed that some printers, such as FDM and powder-based systems, have the potential to emit hazardous dust and vapours. As such, government scientists and policy advisors began to recognise the potential risks this poses to workers and consumers.

The ESDC Labour Program Office first created a hazard alert for 3D printers in 2022. You can view the alert HERE.

Health Canada defers most of its regulatory authority to the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), which holds suppliers of 3D printers responsible for ensuring their products do not pose adverse health risks. “It is the responsibility of the supplier, manufacturer, importer, or retailer to ensure that the consumer products they supply to the Canadian market comply with the CCPSA and its regulations,” a Health Canada spokesperson said in an email response.