ChemRegs Newsletter – March 2025

HSE publishes UK REACH Reports, Work Programmes, and RAP

HSE has published the UK REACH Report (2023 to 2024), UK REACH Work Programme (2024 to 2025), and the UK REACH substance evaluation rolling action plan (RAP).

HSE is the Agency for the UK regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of
Chemicals (UK REACH) and has responsibility for the majority of the regulatory functions under UK REACH, including the drafting of reports and work programmes. UK REACH requires HSE, supported by the Environment Agency, to provide annual reports and work programmes on UK REACH activities.

To this end, HSE has published the UK REACH Report, which outlines the relevant activities covering the 2023 to 2024 Work Programme, and the UK REACH Work Programme, which describes the operational work for 2024 to 2025.

In preparing the UK REACH Work Programme, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and the Scottish and Welsh governments (the Appropriate Authorities) worked closely with HSE and the Environment Agency to prioritise issues for regulatory action under UK REACH.

You can view the UK REACH Report and Work Programme and also view the rationale for UK REACH priorities, used to draft the 2024 to 2025 Work Programme, on the HSE website.

In line with their obligations under Article 44 of UK REACH, HSE has published the substance evaluation Rolling Action Plan (RAP) for UK REACH 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Substance evaluation under UK REACH aims to clarify concerns whether the manufacture and/or use of these substances could pose a risk to human health or the environment.

HSE approach to substance selection seeks to avoid the replication of evaluation work that has been or will be performed by other regulatory regimes (such as via EU REACH), and at the same time avoid unnecessary duplication of work where testing is indicated at the outcome of evaluation. The intention of substance evaluation under UK REACH is to increase the overall understanding of the hazard and risk profile of priority substances for Great Britain (GB). Having identified or increased the overall understanding, it is a separate activity to determine what, if any, regulatory response is appropriate. That might mean further activities under UK REACH or alternatively by the use of other legislation or regulatory tools that are available.

As part of this process HSE has worked with the Appropriate Authorities to develop and agree criteria for prioritising substances for substance evaluation. You can view the criteria on the HSE website

View the RAP for 2024 to 2026.

Publication of GB mandatory classification and labelling (GB MCL) technical reports

The next batch of GB MCL technical reports for substances classified according to the GB CLP Regulation is now available for download at the end of the GB MCL publication table (.xlsx).

A GB MCL technical report is an independent scientific evaluation of the information submitted under the stand-alone GB mandatory classification and labelling (GB MCL) process or as part of the EU harmonised classification and labelling process (EU CLH).

It sets out whether there is adequate scientific evidence to support a new or revised GB MCL of a substance and what that GB MCL should be. If evidence comes to the attention of HSE that may lead to new or revised GB MCL, then HSE has the scientific and regulatory expertise to prepare a GB MCL proposal.

These GB MCL technical reports relate to substances for which the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) published a RAC Opinion under Article 37(4) of EU CLP during 2024, based on information submitted under the EU CLP Regulation. The scientific information supporting the RAC Opinion is evaluated under the GB MCL system.

GB is free to determine its own GB MCLs where it is justified by supporting scientific data and wider policy considerations. This may result in GB having a different MCL to the for the same substance.

There are 10 new GB MCL technical reports, including reports for bronopol; 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol (EC 200-143-0, CAS 52-51-7), and 2-butoxyethanol; ethylene glycol; monobutyl ether (EGBE) (EC 203-905-0, CAS 111-76-2).

At the time of publication, the classification and labelling proposed in these technical reports has not been agreed and/or adopted in GB.

HSE expect to publish the next batch of technical reports in May 2025.

For information on the next steps in the process, please see the HSE webpage on the GB MCL system.

The UK Chemicals Helpline is changing

The UK Chemicals Contact Centre and Helpline was established to support businesses and stakeholders with general enquiries relating to chemicals during the EU Exit Transition Period.

However, the telephone services for the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), Prior Informed Consent Regulation (PIC) and Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP) will be closing on 31 March 2025.

HSE can still be contacted with any queries regarding BPR, PIC, or CLP after this date. You can view the relevant webpage for each regime for more information on how to contact the appropriate helpdesk service:

Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)
Prior Informed Consent Regulation (PIC)
Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP)

The UK Chemicals Helpline service, available on 0330 159 1985, will continue for UK REACH enquiries.

If you need technical advice on other health and safety issues you can visit HSE’s main contact page.

For more information on anything in this Newsletter, please contact us at info@chemregs.co.uk

Source: Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence