Let's not repeat past mistakes

Chemicals regulation in the UK is broken. Businesses, academics and the public have all told us about their problems with the current chaotic system. The most recent chemicals strategy wasn’t published this century.
We are campaigning to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Asbestos was used extensively as a building material from the 1950s to the 1990s, but inhaling asbestos fibres over a long time causes an increased risk of serious diseases including asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
The importation of blue and brown asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1985; this ban was eventually extended to include white asbestos in 1999. A better regulatory system in the UK could help recognise and act on risks faster and more decisively, to lessen the impacts of future chemical health crises.
A national Chemicals Agency is needed to help get things back on track and help the UK on the path to becoming a science superpower.
Such a body would supercharge our ability to:
Protect human health and the environment against both short- and longer-term risks across the life cycle of chemicals.
Drive innovation and economic growth by giving businesses and researchers clarity over what is required of them, adapting promptly to new developments in testing and risk mitigation, and facilitating international trade agreements.
Deliver taxpayer value for money by maximising coordination across government, with a well-resourced and skilled staff, to deliver a ‘one substance, one assessment’ approach.
Read our report at rsc.li/agency

[@StoneInMySandal]

This is excellent lobbying!

[@gsurfer04]

Wow, wasn't expecting the music to go that hard

[@Drifzanarshad]

😢