7 hours agoEsme Stallard,Climate and science reporter, BBC News Getty ImagesThe UK is at risk of “uncontrolled chemicals” which could harm people and the environment, say experts.The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has called for the establishment of a Chemicals Agency to take charge of the regulation of chemicals in the UK.It said the rise in the use of pollutants often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ is an example of where regulation is “falling through the cracks”.The government has been approached for comment.RSC said they decided to make a public intervention after waiting for more than four years for clarity on how chemicals should be regulated following the UK’s exit from the EU.Prior to 2020, the UK and the 27 current EU countries worked in tandem to research and monitor chemicals, and set rules around their use. Following Brexit, the UK has undertaken sole responsibility for chemical regulation domestically, but there have been delays establishing a new system.“The current regulatory regime for chemicals in the UK is not fit-for-purpose, failing to support innovation or to adequately protect our waterways, soil, air and built environment,” said Professor Gillian Reid, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry.Last month the government announced it was consulting on a new chemicals’ registration process – intended to be the key mechanism by which the UK will track which chemicals are being imported into the country.The process was intended to be in place from the day the UK officially left the EU, four years ago, in 2020. The RSC said the delay is impacting dozens of industries which operate across the UK and EU market – from cosmetics, to food manufacturing, to agriculture.Stephanie Metzger, policy advisor at the RSC and co-author of the r …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn7 hours agoEsme Stallard,Climate and science reporter, BBC News Getty ImagesThe UK is at risk of “uncontrolled chemicals” which could harm people and the environment, say experts.The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has called for the establishment of a Chemicals Agency to take charge of the regulation of chemicals in the UK.It said the rise in the use of pollutants often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ is an example of where regulation is “falling through the cracks”.The government has been approached for comment.RSC said they decided to make a public intervention after waiting for more than four years for clarity on how chemicals should be regulated following the UK’s exit from the EU.Prior to 2020, the UK and the 27 current EU countries worked in tandem to research and monitor chemicals, and set rules around their use. Following Brexit, the UK has undertaken sole responsibility for chemical regulation domestically, but there have been delays establishing a new system.“The current regulatory regime for chemicals in the UK is not fit-for-purpose, failing to support innovation or to adequately protect our waterways, soil, air and built environment,” said Professor Gillian Reid, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry.Last month the government announced it was consulting on a new chemicals’ registration process – intended to be the key mechanism by which the UK will track which chemicals are being imported into the country.The process was intended to be in place from the day the UK officially left the EU, four years ago, in 2020. The RSC said the delay is impacting dozens of industries which operate across the UK and EU market – from cosmetics, to food manufacturing, to agriculture.Stephanie Metzger, policy advisor at the RSC and co-author of the r …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
