Why you should care about how chemicals are regulated in Europe: a thread (may feature animals, hazardous substances, big numbers)

REACH regulates chemicals in the EEA (EU + Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein), protecting:

humans
animals
environment

From hazardous chemicals, facilitating safe trade in chemicals across the single market.

The UK Gov't has said the UK will not participate in the EHCA or the EU regulatory framework for chemicals after the transition period.

It proposes a separate UK REACH regime that would replicate the EU REACH regime

Chemicals are big business, accounting for 9% of total UK goods exports.

There’s no getting away from them – chemical products crop up everywhere, from sectors such as aerospace, automotive and pharmaceuticals, to everyday products such as cleaning fluids, paints, plastics, fabrics and electronics

Exports of chemical products (excluding pharmaceutical products) totalled £31.4bn in 2019, 9% of UK goods exports by value.

Chemical product imports totalled £34.6bn, 4% of goods imports by value.

Complex supply chains mean products often cross borders multiple times.

(think of the ingredients for a pigment that’s added to a coating that’s applied to a widget that’s part of a device; imagine each part of the process takes place in a different country)

There are jobs at stake: Here’s employment in the chemical industry per region

Quitting REACH will not be cost-free, far from it. The immediate cost of leaving is expected to be more than £1bn

In February this year, the CIA & Cefic (UK & European chemistry industry councils) issued a joint statement on the importance of UK-EU regulatory cooperation, urging negotiators to consider cooperation to avoid disruption

“Sharing the same database is the best guarantee to a level playing field and to keep the same high environmental, safety & health standards.”