An EU-wide ban has entered into force on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal paper.
As of 2 January the substance cannot legally be placed on the market in thermal paper in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.02% by weight.
In December 2016, the European Commission published a Regulation adding BPA, which is used in till receipts due to its heat-resistant properties, to REACH Annex XVII – the restricted substances list.
The substance was first added to the REACH candidate list of SVHCs in 2017 because of its reprotoxic qualities, with entries for endocrine-disrupting qualities for human health and the environment included later.
In October last year, Echa recommended that the Commission include BPA on REACH Annex XIV – the authorisation list.
Outside of the EU, in April last year Switzerland banned the use of both BPA and bisphenol S (BPS) in thermal paper. BPS has increasingly been used by paper manufacturers across Europe as an alternative to BPA despite concerns that it has similar properties.
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