ChemRegs Newsletter – December 2021
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2021
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021 No. 1370 has been published to http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2021/1370.
This amendment to the Carriage Regs (CDG 2009) only relates to Transportable Pressure Equipment (TPE) being placed on the market in Great Britain (GB) and does not come into force until 1 January 2023.
TPE includes receptacles and accessories i.e. cylinders, bundles of cylinders, tubes, cryogenic receptacles and pressure drums as well as tanks i.e. demountable tanks, tank containers, tanks of tank vehicles, tanks of tank wagons, tanks of battery wagons and MEGCs (Multiple Element Gas Containers) that are used to contain gases and other listed substances in ADR.
The purpose is to end recognition of conformity assessments by bodies established in the EU in respect of Transportable Pressure Equipment (TPE) by prohibiting the placing of EU conformity assessed ‘pi’ marked TPE on the GB market on or after 1 January 2023, so that only TPE which has been conformity assessed by a GB appointed body and marked with a UK ‘rho’ marking, or qualifying Northern Ireland TPE, will be accepted on the GB market.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland (NI) remains subject to the EU customs code and regulatory regime for goods. The Government has committed to ensuring that qualifying NI goods receive “unfettered access” to the UK market. The criteria for qualifying NI goods are set out in The Definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
This Instrument will also fulfil obligations arising from part three of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community dated 19 October 2019 (the “Withdrawal Agreement”) relating to the continued acceptance of goods already placed on the GB market prior to the Implementation Period (IP) completion day, allowing them to continue to circulate until they reach their end user and introduces a requirement to facilitate the exchange of information between GB/EU conformity assessment bodies so that conformity assessments which were previously issued by EU notified bodies can be transferred to GB appointed bodies and vice versa.
This instrument will not change the transport requirements for dangerous goods. The amendments being made are to restrict access to the GB market of TPE which has been conformity assessed by an EU conformity assessment body.
Other News
Deadline for UK REACH to be extended
The UK government is planning a 2-year delay to extend the deadline for REACH registrations on the new UK database database from October 2023 to October 2025.
The UK REACH regulatory system has been in place since the UK left the EU, and chemical businesses operating within GB should have already provided initial information by October 2021 under the UK REACH transitional provisions. They were then given until October 2023 to provide supporting safety data for chemicals, but this date was met with pressure from industry to be revised to reduce the burden and substantial cost on businesses.
The government is going to consult on extending the deadlines for providing the full registration data. Alongside this, the government is planning to engage with industry and other stakeholders to explore whether there are opportunities to reduce the need for industry to replicate existing EU REACH data by placing a greater emphasis on understanding how chemicals are used in GB.
The consultation will take place in 2022 and more details will follow after discussions with stakeholders.
To find out more, see here.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
We would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
For more information on anything in this Newsletter, please contact us at info@chemregs.co.uk