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Chemicals Coffee Time Monthly, April 2026

Posted
Updated
ByEmma

Dear Reader,

Dear Reader,

April was quite a busy month, with some welcome news in the UK on the REACH alternative registration model, and less welcome news from the EU that the European Parliament is trying to bring back the much-disliked minimum font size proposals for CLP labels.

Hearing from the HSE, DEFRA and the UK

UK-REACH ATRm – Government response to consultation published

As predicted by ChemicalWatch, the UK Government have published a response to the consultation on the ATRm, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/an-alternative-transitional-registration-model-atrm-for-uk-reach/outcome/summary-of-responses-and-government-response

Many thanks to one of our regular correspondents for sending this link through.

Steven Brennan of Foresight has an excellent overview here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-steven-brennan_summary-of-responses-and-government-response-activity-7444683578011082752-hM4w . He writes:

Key UK REACH registration information requirements under ATRm:

  • Hazard conclusions rather than full study reports at the initial stage
  • Existing use and exposure information only, with no additional GB-specific expansion
  • Targeted chemical safety reporting, with full risk assessment triggered only where necessary
  • Expected participation in substance groups to support data sharing and joint submissions

Many thanks to Steven for the summary.

Darren Abrahams of Steptoe LLP has also published a summary here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/darren-abrahams-617aa049_summary-of-responses-and-government-response-share-7445022230964551680-bfiB/

I think it’s particularly good news about not having an extra layer of use and exposure information, as I personally believe that the current EU use and exposure information is so broad and precautionary that it is actively unhelpful to industry, and creates more paperwork for very little, if any, safety or environmental benefit.

There are obviously many details which need to be sorted out, but this response gives us an overview of where UK-REACH is headed.

Energy news for UK businesses

There was quite a lot of information around energy in April, no doubt made more urgent by the unpleasantness in the Strait of Hormuz.

Many thanks to Chemical Industries Association for their work on this vitally important topic.

Keeping an Eye on ECHA and the EU

EU-CLP Label format news #1

Alison Potts of WSP writes:

The ‘simplification’ Omnibus for CLP, Cosmetics and Fertilisers continues to lumber its way through the EU Parliamentary Process. On Wednesday, the bill and a large stack of amendments were adopted by the Environment Committee by a large majority (114 to 6). We’re a long way from seeing the final outcome of this one, as we’re expecting to see it back in negotiations (trilogue) before the end of the month.

To date, the signs aren’t promising. It appears that mandatory font sizes are making a return for consumer labels, and there is a push for formatting changes again (restrictions on colours backgrounds on labels). There seems to be a slight flaw in the logic if the plan is to send the draft text back through the same processes that produced the CLP delegated act… presumably we’ll just get similar results?

There are plenty of eyes watching this one, and we’ll update readers when a consolidated draft becomes available. In the meantime, the procedural file is available here: https://oeil.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/procedure-file?reference=2025/0531(COD), and the amendments and votes are in the Environment committee meeting documents for April 15th. Available here: https://emeeting.europarl.europa.eu/emeeting/committee/en/timeline.

Many thanks to Ali for spotting this important update. Will anyone in the trade bodies who is able to lobby Europarl about this please do so!

EU-CLP Label format news #2

A reader writes:

The Report on the Omnibus VI proposals is now available at REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EC) No 1272/2008, (EC) No 1223/2009 and (EU) 2019/1009 as regards simplification of certain requirements and procedures for chemical products | A10-0104/2026 | European Parliament.

This gives a summary of the proposals from the Parliaments Vote last week – this will now go to the plenary vote on 29 April, followed by the trilogue negotiations expected in May – June with the aim of reaching an agreement by early July. EU industry will be engaged and will continue to advocate throughout the process, but little the UK can do as no MEPs and no seat at the Council.

The Committees did indeed vote last week to include label formats and font size requirements – the font size requirements are for consumer products only. However, the Council position (published last year) did not include minimum font size requirements – so will need to wait for the trilogues to be over to see the text after these negotiations.

Many thanks to our reader for confirming the current state of play. What a mess!

CoRAP update

ICYMI, Phil Rowley (retired but open to a little light consulting) has spotted that the CoRAP plan was updated recently.

Briefly, the draft CoRAP plan proposed in December 2025 has now been finalised, with 17 (which includes a group) to be evaluated in 2026, 9 in 2027 and 1 in 2028. Of course, there will be a re-evaluation in 2027, so we can expect the numbers to be assessed in 2027 and 2028 to increase.

Phil has very kindly sent through a document which includes the list of 2026 substances under evaluation: ECHA – CoRAP 2026-8.pdf. You can find the full CoRAP list here: https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals/evaluation/community-rolling-action-plan/corap-table

Copper restriction in France

A French provincial court has overturned ANSES’s ban on copper use as a fungicide (particularly aimed at the famous “Bordeaux Mixture”, copper sulphate mixed with lime, which has been used in vineyards for over a century. Ironically, this has permitted copper build-up in the soil to hazardous levels, yet it is allowable under “organic” certification rules. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/danieleruccia_copper-viticulture-science-activity-7447888902872436736-EEBO (hat tip Phil Rowley).

This is actually something which ANSES has got right (see our many comments on the Titanium Dioxide scandal), and it is disingenuous of the “organic” certification lobby to insist on the use of substances which have been conclusively demonstrated to cause environmental and health problems.

Chemical snippets

AI: Automated Idiocy

Another belter from AI, where it tells someone to walk to the car wash instead of driving there… truly, you couldn’t make it up! https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rishabh-zaveri-%E0%A5%90-10397370_airevolution-techtrends-worksmarter-activity-7452551755999006720-0ks4

Process Safety Corner

Recent incidents:

Insights:

Infographic of the Month

An excellent infographic (and article) on odour safety classification from Jans Babkevičs https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bitesizeoh_odour-safety-classification-i-cant-smell-share-7444509115667746816-PkyW

The Weekend Watch/ Read

A very important pair of articles from Emiliano E. ROMERO on laboratory accuracy and precision, a must-read for anyone working in a lab or using external labs for tests (links to the full articles from his summary post here): https://www.linkedin.com/posts/romeroemiliano_most-laboratories-still-talk-about-the-low-activity-7443968652153921538-z7Rr

The Weekend Recipe

As it would have been the late Queen’s 100th birthday on the 21st April, I thought a Royal recipe which was apparently one of her favourites was appropriate.

Gaelic Steak

  • 1 lb venison fillet or beef fillet, cut into two thinner pieces
  • 2 oz butter
  • 1 white onion, finely chopped
  • 7 oz chestnut mushrooms
  • 2 fl. oz whisky
  • 7 fl. oz double cream
  • Parsley, salt and pepper

Fry the seasoned fillets in duck fat and butter to the point you like it (medium rare will be about 6 minutes, depending on thickness), then rest them on a warm plate. Fry the onion gently until translucent, add the mushrooms to cook for about 5 mins, then the whisky (it may flame), for a minute, then the cream and allow to bubble and heat through. To serve, place each steak on a warmed plate, cut into slices across the grain, and cover with the sauce.

The serving suggestion is with mashed parsnip and potato (plenty of cream and butter), and baby carrots glazed with butter and a little sugar, (although with mashed potatoes and peas works too).

Reasons to be Cheerful

In April, we had some short videos from Not the Nine O’Clock News (warning – not very politically correct):

And to commemorate the successful Artemis II mission, here is Public Service Broadcasting’s The Other Side, which includes the recording from when humans first orbited the moon, with the late Jim Lovell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8LlUrT7MFo . And also his message to Artemis II https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WBBsVDOob2A

Many thanks for reading this LinkedIn newsletter, and many thanks to everyone who has contributed, through sending in links, queries, comments etc. If you have anything you’d like to share, please email me or send a DM, and I’ll do my best to include it in the next Chemicals Coffee Time Monthly.

It would be great if you’d like to subscribe to this newsletter on LinkedIn if you haven’t already, and if you want to get the news early, and much, much more (because we can’t include everything in this monthly round-up), you can sign up to our weekly email newsletter here: https://chemicalscoffeetime.co.uk/. (This website includes the email archive, with both open-access and subscriber-only content).

Look forward to chatting to you in late May or early June.

Kind regards,

Janet

Janet Greenwood, TT Environmental Ltd

PS We’re happy for you to use this content in your own social media or newsletters, as long as you credit Chemicals Coffee Time. Please note that this newsletter highlights issues which may be of interest to your business, but is not intended as specific advice. We always recommend that you should do your own research. If you need consultancy help, please book a Quick Consultancy Call here: (https://chemicalscoffeetime.co.uk/quick-consultancy-calls/), or Quick Consultancy Email here: https://chemicalscoffeetime.co.uk/quick-consultancy-emails/

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