Chemical update on basis of a 'no deal' Brexit

In the absence of NI Executive Ministers any amending legislation required will be taken through the Westminster Parliament.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act converts existing EU law into domestic law and preserves the laws we have made in the UK to implement our EU obligations. This ensures that health and safety requirements established through such legislation will continue to apply in Northern Ireland. The Health and Safety Executive for Great Britain has been involved in discussions on chemicals regulation with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and on workplace product safety with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Within the constraints of the current Northern Ireland political and legal circumstances HSENI has also taken part in a number of these discussions.

Further information can be found at:

• https://webcommunities.hse.gov.uk/connect.ti/eu.exit/groupHome

The following technical notices concerning the regulation of chemicals in the UK in a no-deal scenario were published on 12 October 2018:

Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulation:

• ‘Classifying, labelling and packaging chemicals if there’s no Brexit deal’

Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR):

• ‘Regulating biocidal products if there’s no Brexit deal’

Plant Protection Products (PPP) regulation:

• ‘Regulating pesticides if there’s no Brexit deal’

Prior Informed Consent (PIC) regulation: 

• ‘Export and import of hazardous chemicals if there’s no Brexit deal’

Regulation on mercury:

• ‘Control on mercury if there’s no Brexit deal’

Regulating Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs):

• ‘Control on Persistent Organic Pollutants if there’s no Brexit deal’

A technical notice relating to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) was also published on 24 September 2018: 

• ‘Regulating chemicals (REACH) if there’s no Brexit deal’

These technical notices set out information to allow businesses and citizens to understand what they would need to do in the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement (‘no deal’), so they can make informed plans and preparations.

HSE is working to help with the government's preparations for both Day One and the longer term, subject to the outcome of the negotiations with the EU.

Further information on EU exit is available on the website of the Department for Exiting the European Union