Amidst the Brexit uncertainties, representative of the UK’s tech industry association TechUK Susanne Baker, called for the UK to remain aligned to the EU’s chemical safety rules. Speaking about the UK’s Statutory Instrument on REACH, which will replicate REACH into domestic UK law, she highlighted the uncertainties the tech sector is facing as a downstream user of chemicals. Baker expressed her “concerns about the skills and readiness of the Health and Safety Executive to run the new system”. Though she does not believe that the UK will necessarily lower environmental standards. Downstream users of chemicals often benefit from upstream authorisations, which will no longer be valid in the UK post-Brexit, and therefore will have to submit relevant paperwork to the new UK Chemical Agency, the Health and Safety Executive.
Michael Warhurst, from CHEM Trust, one of the environmental groups which together with chemical industry called for keeping the UK in REACH, said that UK government is likely to lower environmental standards once outside the EU.