The current and future status of UK REACH raised heated debate at ChemUK . Andrew Warmington reports
UK REACH : Where are we in 2023 ?
The current and future status of UK REACH raised heated debate at ChemUK . Andrew Warmington reports
It was literally standing room only at the ChemUK show when a panel of speakers from industry , service providers , NGOs and regulatory authorities came together to discuss the state of play on UK REACH . They focused on the current state of play and challenges ahead as the UK grapples with a new system that is many years short of coming fully into place .
Since the Brexit referendum in 2016 , noted James Dancy , head of UK REACH service and policy at the Department of the Environment , Food & Rural Affairs ( DEFRA ), the UK has developed the new law , copying EU REACH into UK legislation , and created a whole new IT system for registration . About 20,000 chemicals have been notified so far .
The Health & Safety Executive ( HSE ), which administers UK REACH , has created two annual work programmes of regulatory actions around what it sees as the chemicals creating most risk , Dancy continued . A third will be coming out shortly . Authorisations have been completed for nine transitional applications and three new ones ; about 50 more are in the pipeline .
A restriction has already been placed on tattoo inks and another is coming out on lead shot in ammunition . A regulatory management options analysis paper – which details potential actions before they are taken - has been published on the very hot topic of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances . Others are in progress on formaldehyde and bisphenols in thermal paper .
Having copied EU REACH , Dancy added , Great Britain ( GB ) - Northern Ireland remains in the EU Single Market – requires the same data package for registration of any chemical . EU-wide consortia own these packages and UK substance group must pay for access to them . The costs vary considerably but can be high .
Recognising this issue , the government announced in late 2021 that it would develop an alternative transitional registration ( ATR ) model that would seek to reduce the costs to industry for access to the data , partly by using publicly available information . It will also place greater emphasis on improve our understanding use and exposure scenarios in GB .
DEFRA is working with others to cost out different options . “ There are a lot of considerations there and it is a real balance between reducing costs and increasing environmental protection ,” Dancy concluded . Further consultation may follow later in the year .
Extended deadlines
At the time of ChemUK , a statutory instrument was before Parliament to implement the government ’ s plan to extend the three volume-band
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