Deadline for UK REACH to be Extended

Defra has committed to exploring alternative arrangements for UK REACH transitional registrations in order to support chemical businesses whilst upholding the highest standards to safeguard public health and the environment.

The UK is committed to a robust regulatory system for the control of chemicals which ensures the UK’s high levels of environment protection, underpinned by the Environment Act. UK REACH is the government’s regulatory tool for achieving this – ensuring companies that put chemicals on the market understand and manage the risks they might pose.

This regulatory system has been in place since the UK left the European Union, and chemical businesses operating within Great Britain should have already provided initial information under the UK REACH transitional provisions.

In response to the Government’s announcement, Chemical Business Association’s (CBA) Chief Executive, Tim Doggett said, “This is a common sense, pragmatic way forward to solving what is an intractable problem. The original intention – to create a mirror image of the data held by the European Chemicals Agency for EU REACH – would involve replicating this testing data for UK purposes. This would be a massive cost to UK industry as well as the likelihood of having to repeat and duplicate animal testing.”

“Industry remains committed to creating a fit-for-purpose regulatory regime which adopts the highest contemporary levels of chemical safety and environmental protection. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government and other stakeholders and to contribute further towards the Government’s intention of extending the deadlines for the full registration data in order that a new model can be considered that would reduce the need for industry to replicate existing EU REACH data”

For the Government announcement, go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deadline-for-uk-reach-to-be-extended

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