UK Legislation Overview

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Supply

Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, legislation is currently being enacted within the UK to implement retained EU law at the point of departure. 

For supply, this means that substances and mixtures must be classified, packaged and labelled in accordance with the UK Statutory Instrument implementing Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, and amending Directive 67/548/EEC and Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (CLP Regulation) at the point of departure.

According to the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland will continue to be governed by EU legislation. The CLP Regulation, REACH and other EU chemical legislation will continue to directly apply in Northern Ireland.

CHCS will be updating the web pages with further information on the Statutory Instruments that will replace EU Law for application in GB:

• The new standalone regulatory regime that will be in force within Great Britain (GB)
• The Northern Ireland Protocol
• The relationship between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK

In the meantime, see the new CHCS Web Page on UK Law Making and CHCS Brexit Information Pages.

Import/Export

The import and export of chemicals from the UK is subject to a number of controls, including the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation. PIC implements the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and controls the import and export of certain dangerous chemicals. The GB-PIC Regulation is currently being enacted to implement European Union Regulation (EU) 649/2012. However, Regulation (EU) 649/2012 will continue to apply to Northern Ireland. See CHCS Brexit pages for more information.

Additional requirements apply to chemicals that may be used in the manufacture of drugs and chemical weapons. Further information on the import and export of drug precursors can be found on the Home Office website, whilst information on the chemical weapons convention can be found here.

Suspicious enquiries for chemicals that might be used as precursors for drugs and/or chemical weapons should be reported, as soon as possible to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789321. See National Counter Terrorism Security Office website and leaflet.

Use

• COSHH: The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2677). See also COSHH ACoP L5 (6th edition 2013) and COSHH Essentials a free access website (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/essentials/index.htm) which can be used to make a risk assessment of the health hazards of chemical processes.
  
  
• DSEAR: The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2776) implements the Explosives Atmosphere Directive (ATEX 137) 1999/92/EC and the safety aspects of the Chemicals Agents Directive (CAD). (Note: CAD also deals with health aspects which are implemented by COSHH). DSEAR implements measures to reduce the risks from fires, explosions and other energy releasing events (e.g. exothermic chemical reactions) arising from the use of dangerous substances. See DSEAR ACOP L138 (2nd Edition 2013).
  
  
• CLAW: Control of Lead at Work Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/543) and 2002 (S.I. 2002/2676). CLAW AcoP (3rd edition) 2002 (L132)
  
  
• CAW: Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (SI 2002/2675)

Transport

See our new "Introduction To The Transport Of Dangerous Goods: UK Requirement".  

Page reviewed: December 2020
Document Ref: leg-42

CHCS Training

CHCS offers Modular Training Courses on the writing of Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), and related issues such as classification, labelling and other documentation.

For more information see CHCS Training. 

If you have any queries about our training, please Contact CHCS.