UK proposes to extend UK REACH registration deadline and explore other information requirements | Bergeson and Campbell, PC

On December 6, 2021, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice, sent a letter to the Association of Chemical Industries (CIA). The letter confirms that the government is exploring a new model for transitional REACH registrations in the UK – registrations under UK REACH of substances that have been registered in the European Union (EU) under registration, evaluation , Authorization and Restriction of EU Chemicals (REACH Regulation) no later than December 31, 2020, end of Brexit transition period. In the same letter, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) offered to extend the UK’s first REACH registration deadline by 2023 at 2025. This letter marks the first steps for the UK to chart its own course in chemicals regulation since the end of the Brexit transition period.

The DEFRA letter responds to a February 9, 2021 letter from 25 industry associations urging government ministers to reduce demands for full datasets for all substances, imported or manufactured, that are placed on the market in Britain (GB) (exemptions excluded). Under current rules, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) depend on this data to identify substances of concern to human health and the environment and to create regulatory management options. The UK lost access to these full datasets at the end of the Brexit transition period.

Industry parties proposed a different regime, where agencies would continue to be informed of substances on the market and could use publicly available data to prioritize the assessment of substances of concern. A key source of data would be non-confidential information from EU REACH registration dossiers published by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

While reducing information requirements would reduce compliance costs for registrants, some stakeholders are concerned that this will increase the discrepancy between EU and UK requirements and increase complexity. In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) see the reduction in information as a reduction in the protection of human health and the environment from harmful substances placed on the UK market.

The letter of 6 December follows the introduction of the Environmental Law 2021 (the Act), which gives the Secretary of State significant new powers to amend UK REACH legislation to adapt it to the UK market as long as the changes do not conflict with the requirements of Article 1 of REACH. DEFRA engages with stakeholders to discuss the new proposals and will launch a public consultation in 2022.

Remark

Businesses accessing markets in Europe cannot afford to assume that requirements will remain consistent between the EU and the UK and should keep abreast of developments. Acta, with legal entities in Manchester, England and Brussels, Belgium, is well placed to help you access the UK and European markets.