UK's New Approach to Chemicals Regulation: Introduction of the Alternative Transitional Registration Model

On 9 November 2023, the UK Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a policy paper introducing an alternative transitional registration model (ATRm) for chemicals which aims to reduce costs for businesses while maintaining DEFRA’s commitment to protecting human health and the environment.

UK-REACH

Following UK’s withdrawal from the EU, a regulatory framework for chemicals in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), known as the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (UK-REACH), was put in place. UK-REACH retains the key principles of EU-REACH and aims to maintain high standards of protection of human health and environmental in Great Britain. EU-REACH continues to apply in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Alternative Transitional Registration Model

DEFRA, in collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency, has introduced an Alternative Transitional Registration Model (ATRm) in response to concerns from UK industry about the financial burden of accessing EU data packages for UK-REACH transitional registrations. The ATRm aims to reduce business costs while prioritising the commitment to protect human health and the environment.

The ATRm is the result of an intensive review process involving industry experts and stakeholders. DEFRA’s aim is to take a more targeted approach using existing information already available in the EU and globally to develop the detailed information held on chemical substances in a more focused way. The review has shown that UK regulators do not need to maintain a full replica of all chemical registration data under EU-REACH in order to carry out their regulatory work effectively.

The Government's ambition is to have a comprehensive view of the use of chemicals in Great Britain to ensure that industry complies with the safe use of chemicals. This approach will enable regulators to assess the risks associated with chemicals and take targeted action where risks are deemed unacceptable. The success of the strategy was demonstrated by the release of the risk management analysis for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) earlier this year.

DEFRA’s progress to date

DEFRA has made progress in the areas listed below. Proposals are being developed and will be subject of consultation.   

• Refining the details of the 'use and exposure' information required from Great Britain registrants.

• Reducing the hazard information required for transitional registrations and intermediates to the essential minimum so that UK-REACH registrants will not generally need to access and pay for data packages from the EU.

• Significantly reduce the cost to industry associated with buying or accessing EU hazard information.

• Improve the powers of regulators to quickly request and receive data from registrants for regulatory or risk prioritisation purposes, ensuring the ability to respond quickly to new or emerging risks.

• Undertake a review of the current fee structure for UK-REACH to establish a more sustainable funding model, including a possible reduction in the current level of UK-REACH registration fees.

• Revise the UK-REACH restriction processes to provide greater flexibility to respond quickly to identified risks.

Conclusion

The introduction of the ATRm and associated changes will provide a stronger basis for identifying and managing high risk chemicals in Great Britain while addressing the financial burden on businesses during the transition to UK-REACH. Consultations on the detailed policy are expected to take place in early 2024.