Brexit shakes up global chemical industry

In 2006, Europe introduced an ambitious regulation to ensure the safety of all chemicals. Known as REACH = Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of CHemicals, the regulation requires that every manufacturer or importer of chemicals in the European Union must file a dossier with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) which declares all known safety information and recommendations for safe use of chemicals. Recognizing that no government agency can ever keep up with assessing the safety of all chemicals and banning or regulating the dangerous ones, the EU made the chemical industry itself responsible. The REACH dossiers must demonstrate that each chemical can be used safely. After 10 years of compiling and submitting these dossiers, the chemical industry finally completed the chemical data submittal in 2018.