EU restricts use of eight chemicals, with 16 more in pipeline; UK has two under consideration.

A bit of Brexit ideology means we are falling behind Europe on protecting the public and the environment from toxic chemicals. And it can only get worse.

The UK is facing a £1 billion bill to replicate the EU’s chemical database after the government opted to leave the bloc’s REACH system on 31 December.

A plan by Boris Johnson’s government to change the regulation of chemicals after Brexit risks making the UK a “dumping ground” for harmful substances, experts and campaigners have warned.

An animal welfare representative said the government is showing signs that there will not be proper protections against animal testing post-Brexit.

Preparing Brexit: How ready is the UK? is our second report examining government and business preparations for the end of the transition period, building on Preparing Brexit: The scale of the task left for UK government and business, published in July.

The European Chemicals Agency is an agency of the European Union which manages the technical and administrative aspects of the implementation of the European Union regulation called Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

Start by identifying your role in the supply chain and your future connection to the EU-27 and EEA market. Where and with whom you do business will determine how the withdrawal will affect you.

UK is ‘moving from a situation where we are a key player in all of this to an almost passive bystander with much less control over what goes onto the shelves’, says Prospect chief. / Harmful chemicals including bee-killing pesticides, skin irritants and hormone disruptors could be allowed into the UK following Brexit, experts have cautioned.