We sought views on a draft exemption to allow the placing on the market of asbestos-containing railway vehicles, and asbestos-containing components of railway vehicles.
This stems from a consultation by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on proposals for draft regulations that would allow the placing on the market and use of a second-hand asbestos-containing article under certain conditions.
The proposed regulations will give us the power to issue exemptions, for articles within the scope of our responsibilities, and which were installed or in service before 1 January 2005.
This is to deal with the unintended consequences of a directly applicable European Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) which, in 2009, introduced a very broad restriction on the supply of asbestos-containing articles.
REACH has since been amended to allow EU member states to arrange for exemptions under certain conditions to ensure a high level of protection of human health.
DEFRA is proposing to take up this exemption facility by amending the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 to introduce us as an exempting authority.
We are aiming to have the new exemption in place to come into effect when the law changes later this year.