Overview
ENDS Report quoted Simon Tilling in a April 22, 2022 publication titled “Only two chemicals named in HSE’s toxicity assessment plan.”
The piece focuses on the Health and Safety Executive’s plans to assess a group of chlorinated waxes and a bisphenol under the first phase of its Rolling Action Plan under UK REACH – far fewer than the EU plan it was inspired by. The article highlights the concern raised by delegates at the Chemicals Stakeholder Forum meeting that only two substances will begin review for toxic effects this year, while the next batch of substances is said to be announced by the end of May 2023.
Referring to HSE’s inability to replicate the work and pace of ECHA and the EU’s member states, Tilling stated: “It simply does not have the capacity to do so, and is instead prioritising those substances deemed to be the highest risk. Very quickly we will see divergence in the number of chemicals subject to some degree of regulatory control in the EU compared to the UK. Now that this is clear, it raises a wider question about whether the UK’s regulatory system is best suited for its needs,”.
The full article can be read at ENDS Report (subscription required).