Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

The EU REACH Regulation was brought into UK law on 1 January 2021 under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as UK REACH (Assimilated Regulation 1907/2006 on REACH and the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008).

The UK REACH and EU REACH regulations now operate independently from each other. UK REACH regulates chemicals placed on the market in Great Britain (GB) - England, Scotland and Wales, while EU REACH continues to apply in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

UK REACH applies to the majority of chemical substances that are manufactured in or imported into GB. This can be:

• a substance on its own
• a substance in a mixture, for example ink or paint
• a substance that makes up an ‘article’ - an object that is produced with a special shape, surface or design, for example a car, furniture or clothes

The aim of REACH is to improve the assessment and control of chemical substances and their impacts on human health and the environment, by:

• providing a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the use of chemicals
• making the people who place chemicals on the market (manufacturers and importers) responsible for understanding and managing the risks associated with their use
• promoting the use of alternative methods for the assessment of the hazardous properties of substances, e.g. quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) and read across

It is the legal responsibility of all defence industry partners to meet their obligations under REACH for their substances. To ensure sustainability of defence operational capabilities, project teams and defence industry partners are urged to contact their suppliers to get assurance that they are aware of REACH, and that they have implemented plans to meet their obligations for the products they deliver.

The Secretary of State may allow for exemptions from this regulation in specific cases for certain substances, on their own, in a mixture or in an article, where necessary in the interests of defence. Exemptions may be applied to:

• (a) to a person, including the Secretary of State, or a category of persons
• (b) to one or more provision at the same time
• (c) prospectively
• (d) for a limited or unlimited period
• (e) generally or to a particular case
• (f) subject to such limitations and conditions as the Secretary of State sees fit

There is also the provision to enact a defence exemption from the requirement to submit MOD-specific information to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the interest of defence. However, in all cases, the MOD policy on exemptions requires that defence maintains departmental arrangements that are, so far as is practicable, at least as good as those required by legislation.

For further information contact: DESEngSfty-QSEPSEP-Reach@mod.gov.uk

Related information

• REACH Portal - Health and Safety Executive