By Veronica Marrero, Regulatory Compliance Specialist
Brexit Transition Period
The transition period of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) is coming to an end, and yet there is still no clear guidance on what the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements will be come January 1, 2021. In the EU, SDS requirements are set by the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, specifically Annex II of this regulation.
EU REACH & Impacts of SDS Requirements
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the EU REACH Regulation will be adopted into UK law, creating the UK REACH which will carry over the fundamental components from EU REACH. This leads us to deduce that the SDS requirements laid out in the EU REACH Regulation is one of the fundamental components being retained.
What’s more, a draft legislation in the UK titled, “REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019” – being amended by “The REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020” to include new provisions with regard to Northern Ireland among some other changes not specifically relating to the future UK REACH SDS requirements – retains Annex II of the EU REACH Regulation, with verbiage updates to make the regulation domestically effective. While these legislations are still drafts, they are expected to come into force at the end of the transition period.
Yet to be confirmed, as well, is whether the UK REACH Regulation will be including the recent updates made to EU REACH Annex II. Based on the timing, and the more recent draft legislation not making reference to the recent EU REACH Annex II updates, it is likely that these updates will not be implemented in UK REACH.
Please contact the GSM Regulatory Team if you would like more guidance around the new requirements and the specific impact on your products. TotalSDS customers will receive additional communication about software updates and regulatory procedures.
