The government is planning to reduce regulatory requirements for critical chemicals, and experts worry that this may be a step towards Security system is weaker after Brexit For potentially toxic substances.
Proposals announced last week Some new new rules were made without much fanfare on the government website After Brexit National Chemical Regulatory Agency. These proposals will change the way “substances of high concern”-including potential toxins and carcinogens, and chemicals that exist for a long time in the environment-are handled.
According to EU law, these The chemical is formally confirmed It is publicly included on the “candidate list”, and the authorities analyze it and decide whether to prohibit or allow its use under certain circumstances by transferring it to the “authorized list”. When dealing with products containing these Candidate List chemicals, companies must notify regulators and their supply chains to encourage them to use alternatives.
According to the government’s proposal, the company is not obliged to submit information about “substances of high concern”, but it can be submitted on a voluntary basis. Only chemicals that may be transferred to the “authorized list” will be included in the “candidate list”, which means that a smaller number of reportable chemicals will be analyzed.
Zoe Avison, a policy analyst at the Green Alliance think tank, said: “Relying on data voluntarily submitted by chemical companies, you will almost certainly see hazardous substances fail. The UK could have made smart arrangements to reduce industrial costs. And protect public health. However, the government has pushed itself to the corner. After the company delayed submitting safety data for the UK market, this is a very worrying sign for the future of UK chemical regulation.”
Experts told the “Guardian” that they worry that the government’s actions will weaken the protection of harmful substances and allow potentially toxic chemicals to slip from the Internet.
Michael Warhurst, executive director of Chem Trust, a charity dedicated to hazardous chemicals, said: “The government seems to have made unnecessary information requirements before taking action, which will cause regulators to take a series of hazardous substances. Doing nothing. This will open the door to a second-tier system that regulates chemical substances in the UK after Brexit and that British consumers and the environment are more exposed to harmful chemicals than the European Union.”
Jamie Page cancer The Prevention and Education Association added: “We are concerned that the protection that British citizens had previously enjoyed is now being eroded. The further the UK moves away from the EU [registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals] With systems and databases, people are more likely to be exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals. “
The government’s proposal does not require public consultation, nor does it require a vote in parliament. According to the legal arrangements after Brexit, ministers can make such changes without discussion.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are committed to maintaining an effective chemical management and control regulatory system to protect human health and the environment, and to be able to deal with emerging risks. We have already published us in the UK Reach An interim approach to the Candidate List. This approach is designed to ensure that we have a single, coherent method to nominate substances for the Candidate List.”
