The U.K. government confirmed that its post-Brexit chemical regulations will soon be loosened, leading to more concerns regarding the negative effects of this decision.
The United Kingdom said that this new plan will reduce the "hazard" information that chemical companies currently provide so they can register substances in the U.K.
U.K. officials explained that they would reduce the chemicals' safety information requirements to an irreducible minimum. Because of this, many campaigns are now raising their concerns, saying that this could only make the country lag far behind the European Union.
UK's Post-Brexit Chemical Regulations To Be Loosened
A Union Jack flag outside the Houses of Parliament on August 9, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. Southern England saw several days of high temperatures, with the mercury hitting 36.4C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens, England's hottest August day in 17 years.
According to The Guardian's latest report, the U.K. REACH is already falling behind the EU REACH, which the United Kingdom hasn't been a part of since 2021.
"UK REACH retains both the fundamental approach and key principles of the EU REACH and is focussed on ensuring that Great Britain continues to uphold high levels of protection of human health and of the environment," said the U.K. government via its official website.
On Nov. 9, officials said that the chemical industry has been raising their concerns regarding the cost to businesses of accessing EU data packages to support the U.K. REACH.
To solve this issue, DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and the Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency (U.K. REACH regulators) are making efforts to find options for an alternative transitional registration model (ATRm).
"We have drawn significant insights from our initial experience in implementing UK REACH," they said.
Now, U.K. officials concluded that regulators don't really need to have access to a complete replica of all the registration data on chemical substances that are under the EU REACH.
They argued that they could adopt a more targeted approach by simply using the details available in the European Union and other parts of the globe.
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Campaigners Concerned About UK REACH Scheme
Steam and exhaust rise from the chemical company Oxea (front) and the coking plant KBS Kokereibetriebsgesellschaft Schwelgern GmbH on a cold winter day on January 6, 2017 in Oberhausen, Germany. According to a report released by the European Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Many campaigners are becoming more concerned regarding the worsening chemicals issue in the United Kingdom, especially since the REACH scheme has been introduced.
One of them is Wildlife and Countryside Link's Chief Executive Richard Benwell, who believes that the government is exposing consumers and wildlife to more toxic chemicals than other EU countries.
He explained that the new U.K. REACH scheme would be a misguided step in the wrong direction, claiming that it could permanently damage the ability of U.K. regulators to prevent and identify harmful chemicals.
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