Are you a producer of chemicals, or do you supply to or buy from the EU? Maybe you are just a business that uses chemicals?
REACH Regulation
There may be some actions required in preparation for Britain leaving the European Union, including understanding changes to REACH (Registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals)
It is important to note, that following Brexit the requirement to manage safety and protect people from harm will not change, in fact many pieces of legislation have already been updated with no changes other than removing the reference to the EU (The Health and Safety (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018)
Following Brexit with a deal there will be an implementation period, during this time there will be no changes to the way this is managed, and EU REACH will continue to apply to the UK during this period. Chemicals will still continue to require registration with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
Classification, Labelling & Packaging (CLP) compliance will also remain a requirement during the implementation period in the same manner it does now. It is important to note that UK suppliers will have the same rights as EU based suppliers in relation to harmonised classification / labelling processing.
As it stands, the UN GHS (Globally Harmonised System) including current pictograms for packaging will remain the same.
No deal brexit
In the event of a “no deal” scenario, the current plans are for the EU REACH regulations to be adopted into domestic legislation in the UK as “UK REACH” (via the EU Withdrawal Act 2018). This legislation will be retained and where appropriate the wording will be updated to remove reference to the EU. This will mean the UK and EU regulatory bodies will operate independently, and if you intend to supply / purchase to or from the EU you must ensure that your substances are registered with both bodies – the key point here is “no data, no market”. Full guidance on this process is available from the HSE.
Even if you are an end user, it would be prudent to ensure your supply chain is prepared for all situations and you can still obtain supplies you need to continue your business seamlessly in all cases.
We can help with your safety management system, including supporting you by auditing your health and safety provisions on site – giving you one less thing to worry about.
We are also able to provide a range of training to you and your people on a range of subjects from H&S responsibilities to COSHH and Fire Warden training – \to see how we can help you, please contact us today.
