The plans that the UK government has for regulation of the country’s chemicals industry in the event of a hard Brexit have been described as “unworkable” by the Chemical Business Association (CBA).

What’s more, the organisation stated that the plan as it stands will cause “huge damage” to the sector, ICIS reported.

The issue is that the government plans to introduce EU Reach legislation into UK law if there is a no-deal Brexit scenario, something that the industry body argues will result in chemicals companies in the UK having to go through the expense and effort of registering for Reach for a second time.

Another sticking point is that UK firms would lose access to the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA’s) database. Creating its own version of the registered chemicals database would be a costly and time-consuming process for the UK.

The CBA is concerned that the government isn’t taking its concerns seriously, with the organisation stating: “In recent meetings, ministers have appeared indifferent to the further costs faced by chemicals firms as a consequence of establishing the proposed Reach UK regime.”

This isn’t the first time that criticism has been levelled at the government’s plans for Reach registration and other legislation for the UK’s chemical sector post-Brexit.

Chemical Watch recently reported on a number of concerns held by those in the industry, including the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) describing the timeline for establishing the UK’s own Reach IT system as “overly ambitious”.

Companies providing toll processing services will be among those keeping a close eye on the progress of Brexit negotiations as we move towards the March deadline and particularly what’s agreed in relation to the chemicals sector.