UK Rolls out Plan to Cope with Challenges under UK REACH
This year marks the first year for the implementation of UK REACH, which entered into force on January 1, 2021. UK REACH maintains EU REACH\’ s aims and principles, with the necessary changes to make it operable in a domestic context. Transitional provisions were also introduced to reduce post-Brexit trade friction. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU REACH Regulation continues to apply to Northern Ireland, while UK REACH will regulate the access of substances to the GB market. This means that all existing NI-based EU REACH registrations will remain valid and GB-based EU REACH registrations will no longer be valid in NI.
As UK REACH comes into force, issues and concerns faced by industry inevitably continue to increase. Julie Mayhew from UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in the 13th Chemical Regulatory Annual Conference (CRAC) and Asian Helsinki Chemicals Forum (HCF) that there is still a long way to go in the development of UK REACH. The UK government needs to spend much effort introducing a new IT system for UK REACH that allows industry to fulfil their registration obligations and publishing UK REACH guidance[1].
She also outlined the work plan[2] made by UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA) to be implemented in 2021 or 2022, which aims at providing a comprehensive picture of all activities conducted under UK REACH.
- From 2020 to 2021, HSE worked closely with the Environment Agency and the Appropriate Authorities to identify priority restrictions for the use and/or sale of lead ammunition and for substances in tattoo inks and permanent make up for the first year of UK REACH. (see below). HSE will work closely with the Appropriate Authorities and other relevant government departments to identify and agree priorities for initiating restrictions in UK REACH in 2022 and 2023.
| Restriction | Scope of the proposed restriction |
| Use and/or sale of lead ammunition | Environment: wild birds; condition of terrestrial and freshwater aquatic environments
Human health: indirect exposure through eating game shot with lead gunshot TSCA Inventory Search Tool |