Provides for the regulation by the department of environmental conservation of business transaction paper containing bisphenol A

Summary of provisions

The bill prohibits any person, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation from distributing or using any paper containing BPA for the recording of any business or banking transaction.

Furthermore, receipt paper manufacturers shall not produce any paper containing bisphenol A nor replace bisphenol A with other chemical compound that has been scientifically established to be a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin. Paper manufacturers are required to use the least toxic alternative chemical compound to replace bisphenol A.

The DEC is required to certify that any chemical compound used to replace BPA in receipt paper is the least toxic alternative available, and is not a known human carcinogen as classified by the United State Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin.

DEC is also required to investigate and determine acceptable methods of disposal and recycling for paper receipts in order to eliminate or minimize exposure to BPA, The Department shall also advise the public regarding safe practices in handling and disposing of such paper receipts.

The bill also creates a DEC Advisory Committee on Least-Toxic Alternatives to BPA, composed of competent, independent scientists with substantial experience in evaluating toxicological and epidemiological data on toxic chemicals, including their potential carcinogenic, endocrine disruptive, reproductive, developmental or neurological effects.

Justification

Recently the NYS Governor signed legislation that would prohibit the use of BPA in child care products, including sippy cups, baby bottles and straws intended for use by a child under the age of three. BPA is an estrogen-mimicking endocrine disrupting chemical that has been found to be toxic at low doses and is linked to breast cancer, early onset of puberty, obesity and prostate cancer. Very small amounts of hormones can produce immense biological behavioral changes.

BPA has been used in carbonless copy paper (e.g. credit card receipts) and thermal imaging papers for many years. A powdery layer of BPA is coated onto a piece of paper along with invisible ink which merge and provide "color" when subject to heat or pressure. The Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, co-founded by organic chemist John C. Warner, has been testing cash register receipts and has found an alarming amount to BPA on these receipts. The average receipt using the BPA technology was found to contain 60 - 100 milligrams of free BPA, which is a thousand times above levels leaching from polycarbonate bottles. Free BPA is not bound into a polymer, but just individual molecules loose and available for uptake. The paper has been published on July 26th in the peer-reviewed journal "Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews".

The Environmental Work Group (ENG) in Washington DC had a testing program conducted by the Missouri Division of Biological Sciences laboratory on receipts from major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Safeway, McDonalds, the U.S. Postal Service, and Bank of America ATMs. The laboratory found that the total mass of BPA on a receipt is from 250 to 1,000 times the amount of BPA typically found in a can of food or a can of baby formula. Forty percent of 36 printed receipts collected from fast food restaurants, big retailers, grocery stores, gas stations and post offices in seven states and the District of Columbia contained BPA.

Bio-monitoring surveys by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found BPA in the bodies of 93% of Americans over the age of 6. The ENG analysis of the CDC data found that people who reported working in retail industries had 30 percent more BPA in their bodies than the average U.S. adult and 34% had more BPA than other workers. As of May 2009, 1 in 17 working Americans - 7 million people were employed as retail salespersons and cashiers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The nation's largest manufacturer of thermal paper, Appleton Papers in Wisconsin, stopped using BPA in 2006 because of a growing concern about the safety of the chemical.

This potentially damaging source of BPA cannot be allowed to remain in the marketplace, where everyone is being exposed unknowingly. In order to reduce public exposure to this chemical, the bill would ban the use of paper containing or made with BPA within 6 months of becoming law. Further, the bill would require replacement chemicals to be the least toxic available and not to be classified as known human carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, developmental or reproductive toxins.

Prior legislative history

S.4532-A of 2011-2012 (Alesi): Died in Environmental Conservation S.3513 of 2013-2014 (O'Brien): Died in Environmental Conservation

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act would take effect 180 days after it becomes law.