Forecast for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2019: Chemical Management EU and Brexit

Chemical substance management in the EU in 2019 will be a mix of new and ongoing activities. The EU faces unprecedented challenges in the form of the UK’s decision to leave the EU (Brexit), possibly without an agreement between the UK and EU. The UK’s transition to its own chemical substance management system is expected to be a major development in 2019. Ongoing compliance and enforcement challenges are expected to continue under REACH and the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). Updates to the EU’s Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulation, evaluation of EU food contact materials (FCM) legislation, and implementation of the criteria for identification of endocrine disruptors recently adopted by the European Commission (EC) will impact the management of chemical substances in 2019 and beyond.