Category: UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

January 17, 2024

HSE Recommends Adding DIHxP to UK REACH Authorization List

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced in its January 17, 2024, UK REACH ebulletin that it recommended that diisohexyl phthalate (DIHxP) be added to the list of substances subject to authorization (Annex 14) for UK REACH. As reported in our October 13, 2023, blog item, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) prioritized DIHxP and included DIHxP in its April 12, 2023, recommendation for the inclusion of substances in the European Union (EU)...
August 15, 2023

July 2023 Meeting of UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum Includes Update on UK REACH

During the United Kingdom (UK) Chemicals Stakeholder Forum’s (UKCSF) July 20, 2023, meeting, UKCSF received updates from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on UK REACH. According to the UKCSF Chemicals policy and regulation update, Defra, along with Welsh and Scottish governments, worked with HSE, the Environment Agency, and a wide range of stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations (NGO) and trade associations,...
June 28, 2023

Registration Now Open for “Preparing a PFAS Game Plan in the U.S., the UK, and the EU” Webinar

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (EDT)4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CEST) REGISTER NOW Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are attracting global legal, regulatory, commercial, and litigation attention as no other “emerging contaminant” has. Companies producing, processing, distributing, and/or using these substances must be aware of these global legal developments and take steps now to minimize legal, regulatory, and commercial risk. In the United States and globally, the number...
June 12, 2023

HSE Recommends Restricting Hazardous Substances in Tattoo and Permanent Makeup Inks

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced on June 8, 2023, that it is recommending the restriction of hazardous substances in ink used for tattooing and permanent makeup (PMU) in Great Britain (GB). HSE states that the proposed restriction would target substances classified for carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, reproductive toxicity, skin sensitization, skin corrosion, and serious eye damage. HSE proposes concentration limits of substances in tattoo ink and PMU based on those established in...
June 6, 2023

HSE Proposes to Include Substances in UK REACH Substance Evaluation Rolling Action Plan

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has proposed to include three substances in the rolling action plan (RAP) for 2023 to 2025. HSE states that it has “sought to complement rather than replicate evaluation work that has been or will be performed by other regulatory regimes” (such as via the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation). According to HSE, its intention is to increase its overall understanding of the...
April 12, 2023

HSE Publishes RMOA for PFAS

On April 4, 2023, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a regulatory management options analysis (RMOA) for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The RMOA is a preliminary step used within the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) framework. The RMOA collates, combines, and analyzes information on the nature and extent of exposure to chemical substances, and it considers existing laws and also how PFAS are being managed around the world,...
November 4, 2022

UK Parliament Environmental Audit Committee Seeks Stakeholder Views on Implementation of UK REACH

The Environmental Audit Committee of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament announced on November 1, 2022, that it is planning an oral evidence session later in 2022 to examine progress in implementing UK REACH, which governs the registration, evaluation, and authorization of chemical products in England, Scotland, and Wales. The Committee plans to take evidence from representatives of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). In advance...
July 28, 2022

DEFRA Calls for Evidence on Amending UK REACH Authorization List

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published two calls for evidence on amending Annex 14 of UK REACH to include the following substances: Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP); and Disodium octaborate. In December 2021, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommended which substances of very high concern (SVHC) are a priority for inclusion in Annex 14. Following HSE’s recommendation, the appropriate authorities (Defra Secretary of State, Scottish and Welsh ministers)...
July 12, 2022

Defra Publishes Rationale for UK REACH Work Programme Priorities in 2022/23

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently published the UK REACH Work Programme 2022/23. The work programme sets out the activity that HSE, supported by the Environment Agency and other relevant agencies, will carry out to operate UK REACH. To complement the publication of the work programme, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the rationale used for identifying particular substances for potential regulatory action under UK REACH in 2022 to...
May 10, 2022

HSE Begins Public Consultations on First Restriction Dossiers under UK REACH

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The United Kingdom (UK) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced on May 6, 2022, the beginning of a six-month public consultation on restriction proposals on lead in ammunition and substances in tattoo inks and permanent make-up (PMU). According to its press release, HSE proposed the restriction on lead in ammunition after identifying there is an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment that is not adequately...