UK chemicals sector backs proposed three-year extension to REACH

London – In the UK, chemical sector businesses have overwhelmingly backed a proposed extension of transitional registration deadlines for the new post-Brexit UK REACH regime.

The so-called option 1 scheme, which emerged from a UK government consultation process, would delay submission deadlines for the various tonnage bands by another three years – to October 2026, October 2028, and October 2030 respectively.

While the responses from the chemicals sector place no legal requirement on government, they follow of a nine-month discussion process in which the Chemical Business Association (CBA) played a leading part following ministerial promises to explore alternative arrangements.

The CBA had lobbied the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), on the impact of UK REACH on the chemical industry supply chain and highlighted the issue of downstream users previously not win scope of the regulation.

Describing the latest development as “a first encouraging step,” association CEO Tim Doggett said: “The CBA has been working incessantly with the government to highlight the impact of UK REACH and its implications.

“We remain committed to finding a practical, workable, and affordable solution for everyone, and this extension provides us with an opportunity to pursue suitable options.”

DEFRA has acknowledged that the extra time Option 1 would provide “could lessen burdens on SMEs and downstream users without significantly reducing levels of protection of human health and of the environment”.

It is expected that legislation will now be presented to extend the registration deadlines of each tonnage band by three years.

Article sourced from Process Engineering, an associate publication of European Rubber Journal