stumuz1 wrote:Mark wrote:stumuz1 wrote:
I only read the first paragraph.
We are staying in REACH. Either UK REACH or EU REACH.
Nothing changes post brexit.
It does if we get a No Deal Brexit.
Read the whole article - it's not me speaking, these people are in the know....
How does REACH change if we get a no deal?
Remember, Jacob is not a specialist chemical lawyer.
From ENDS.......
Why a post-REACH Brexit spells pain for industry:
https://www.endsreport.com/article/6116 ... r-industry
Away from the noise of calls from hardline Brexiters to scrap chemicals regulation, DEFRA and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) met with chemical industry stakeholders last week to discuss its plans if no deal was reached with the EU. Should no deal come to pass, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would step into roles currently occupied by the European Chemicals Agency, European Food Safety Authority and the European Commission, with little time to prepare, according to government guidance. DEFRA told delegates at the meeting that UK holders of letters of access would need to submit a full REACH-style registration dossier within two years. But according to Nishma Patel from the Chemical Industry Association (CIA), two years would not be sufficient time for industry and could have cost implications. Registrations under REACH at EU level, which were completed earlier this year, took a lot longer, she noted. “That was pretty much a ten-year project. Companies had to gather the information and submit it to the regulator and to customer industries. To fit ten years of work into two years is a tough call,� she said. “Companies already have this information, but to use it, they have to have permission, that will take time as there will need to be negotiations within companies. Two years is a pretty tight timeline,� she added. If a company cannot gain permission, they would need to retest substances, which would cost more time and money, she said. The deadlines over the past ten years were phased, whereas under the proposed UK system, everything would have to be done at once, she added. DEFRA has not said if there would be any leeway on the deadline, or if failure to meet it would mean that companies would be unable to place products on the UK market. Patel’s sentiments were echoed by Susanne Baker, head of environment and compliance at Tech UK. “If a company had a very large portfolio, a two-year timeframe would cause a big issue for them,� she said. DEFRA’s reason for the two-year timeframe was unclear, she said. However, she believed that the department was open to concerns from stakeholders. “It didn’t seem that this was a closed deal,� she said.
DEFRA also said that only upstream authorisations that had already been granted to UK holders would be grandfathered into the UK regime. A company whose authorisation had not yet been granted by the time the UK leaves the EU would have to resubmit its application to UK authorities. “That would be frustrating for those companies,� said Baker. The National Audit Office flagged issues around chemical regulation as a concern in its report on the department’s progress in implementing Brexit, published last month. For example, DEFRA is having to set up a new IT system to replace that used by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). It had not yet ensured that it could fully meet operational needs, the report noted. The department’s approach was to make sure the system was functioning in time for the UK to leave the EU, then add additional functionality later. The NAO had questioned this, saying there was a risk that once full business requirements were specified, the basic design could need significant rework.
Baker said that the IT system seemed to be on track. “They’ve had stakeholder events to road test it. But the EU system is being updated at the same time so there’s a question mark over potential divergence in the system,� she noted. Patel said that the CIA had been involved in testing the system. “We’ve been promised that it will have the basic functionalities. The main thing is that we don’t have a big IT failure come exit day and companies are unable to meet their compliance requirements - that is the overarching concern for businesses.� Meanwhile, on staffing the agency, officials from DEFRA told the meeting that it had drawn up workforce plans under various Brexit scenarios, and was ready to trigger recruitment as soon as the outcome of negotiations with the EU were clear. Campaign group CHEM Trust have raised concerns about the process for engaging stakeholders in decisions on chemicals authorisations. ECHA has a number of layers of oversight of its activities, including a management board comprising member states and stakeholders, and technical committees where the work of ECHA can be challenged. CHEM Trust understands that the UK government intends to remove oversight for the UK chemicals agency, and replace it only with an ability or obligation on the agency to obtain external scientific advice. This would not be sufficient to ensure well-informed and well-balanced decision making, it said. It is concerned that the agency may become a secretive quango, which operates mainly with DEFRA and the chemicals industry, and said that this could be challenged under the Aarhus Convention. Baker questioned whether the UK chemicals agency would have the same committee structures and consultation requirements as in REACH, or whether it would be a much more informal and ad-hoc approach. “We’d be concerned if there wasn’t a set moment within the process to consult with experts, industry and other stakeholders,� she said. It remains unclear who would determine authorisations, or if there would be committees to replace ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee and Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis. “The decision making of those two bodies is hugely influential and is needed to provide reassurance in the system. We want as much trust and security in the system as possible, that’s what gives it longevity,� she said. The fine detail on many of these points may not be clear until DEFRA places its statutory instrument (SI) on chemicals regulation. “The timeline for the SI keeps moving I think that’s just a reflection on what’s happening within the negotiations�, said Patel.