Best possible chemical data-sharing agreement is vital
We are concerned that the UK government’s proposals for a trade deal with the EU after Brexit will not do enough to avoid UK industry having to repeat tests on animals already carried out for the registration of chemicals in the EU.
The UK’s draft plans fail to propose sharing of all the information between the UK and EU that would be needed to ensure duplicate animal tests to register chemical substances in the UK are not necessary. Such tests add nothing to chemical safety and needlessly increase animal suffering, a concern also highlighted by the UK’s Chemical Industries Association.
We want every effort made for the UK to keep full access to existing EU chemical data to avoid animal tests being repeated.
It is critical the UK negotiates a partnership with the EU that is much closer than existing agreements with other non-EU countries which sadly only go so far as the sharing of general scientific knowledge, best practices and experiences in implementing chemical safety regulations.
Dr Emma Grange, our toxicology expert, says: “It’s vital we find a way for existing chemical data to be shared between the EU and UK. This will be key in ensuring that tests on animals already performed for the registration of chemicals in Europe are not unnecessarily repeated for the UK.
“Looking ahead, the UK and the EU must work together to ensure that testing on animals for new substances is kept to an absolute minimum.”
EU legislation for regulating chemicals, REACH, will stop applying to the UK from 1st January 2021. Thousands of chemicals are registered under EU REACH that could be produced in or imported to the UK while it was in the EU. Under current proposals, the manufacture and import of chemicals in the UK will now need a separate registration under UK-REACH, which could mean duplicate animal tests.