Experts warn over post-Brexit UK rule changes on chemicals

Proposals published on Defra website would change way substances of very high concern' are dealt with

The government is planning to water down the regulatory requirements on key chemicals, in what experts fear could be the first move to a weaker post-Brexit safety regime for potentially toxic substances.

Proposals published last week without fanfare on a government website set out some of the intended new rules for the new post-Brexit national chemicals regulator. The proposals would change the way substances of very high concern" - which include potential toxins and carcinogens, and chemicals that persist for a long time in the environment - are dealt with.