The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have issued a policy statement to explain the interim approach to including Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) on the UK REACH Candidate list.
However, experts have suggested the Government is planning to water down requirements on key chemicals in what could be the first clear move to a weaker post-Brexit safety regime.
Under the Government’s plans, companies will not be obliged to submit information on "substances of very high concern", but can do so on a voluntary basis. Only the chemicals likely to be transferred to the "authorisation list" would be listed on the "candidate list", meaning a smaller number of notifiable chemicals will be analysed.
The policy is not to be subject to public consultation or a vote in parliament, as under post-Brexit legal arrangements, ministers can make such alterations without discussion. As a result, concerns have been raised that the measures would weaken protections against harmful substances, and allow potentially toxic chemicals to slip through the net.
Zoe Avison, policy analyst at the Green Alliance thinktank, said: "Relying on voluntary data submissions by chemical companies will almost certainly see hazardous substances falling through the cracks. The UK could have made sensible arrangements to reduce costs for industry and safeguard public health. Yet the government has boxed itself into a corner. After the new delay for companies to submit safety data for the UK market, this is a very worrying sign for the future of chemical regulation in the UK."
Likewise, Jamie Page, of the Cancer Prevention and Education Society, added: "We are concerned that protections that British citizens previously enjoyed are now being eroded. The more the UK diverges from the EU REACH system and database, the more likely people are to be exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals."
A spokesperson for DEFRA responded: "We are committed to maintaining an effective regulatory system for the management and control of chemicals, which safeguards human health and the environment and can respond to emerging risks. We have published our interim approach to the candidate list in UK REACH. This approach aims to ensure we have a single, coherent approach to nominating substances for the candidate list."
Details of the statement
The statement includes information on:
The Candidate List is a list of SVHC that can be prioritised for inclusion on the authorisation list in Annex 14 in UK REACH. Once a substance is added to the authorisation list, it may not be used after the specified "sunset date" unless the Secretary of State has granted a business-specific authorisation for that use.
When UK REACH came into force, all substances that were on the EU REACH Candidate List were carried over onto the UK REACH Candidate List. The UK REACH work programme for 2021-22 committed to assess those substances that have been added to the EU REACH Candidate List since UK REACH came into force, to consider if it was appropriate to add them to the UK REACH Candidate List.
Interim principles for adding substances to the UK REACH Candidate list
The following interim principles for including SVHCs on the Candidate List in UK REACH have been set out:
Assessment of substances in the EU REACH Candidate list pipeline
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) alongside the Environment Agency, will use these principles to assess the substances that have been added to the EU REACH Candidate List since UK REACH came into force.
Substance groups will be identified as priorities for further assessment via RMOA, which will recommend the most appropriate route for managing any identified risks from those substances.
Inclusion of substances on the UK REACH Candidate list
DEFRA, the Welsh Ministers, Scottish ministers and the HSE can put a substance forward for inclusion on the Candidate List, if they feel it fulfils one or more of the technical, hazard-based criteria to be considered an SVHC.
The HSE will then prepare a dossier and consult on the proposed addition to the Candidate List. The final decision on whether to add a substance to the candidate list is made by HSE, with the Environment Agency advising on environmental matters.
For more information, see:
