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Help eliminate BPA from thermal paper

November 4, 2011 by Stephen Enfield — CEO, POS Supply

Over the last year, the media has been buzzing about the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in receipt paper. The Environmental Working Group conducted a study that found BPA on 40 percent of the receipts it collected from supermarkets, automated teller machines, gas stations and chain stores. With all the blog posts, independent studies and government reports to sift through, it's hard not to get confused and overwhelmed by all the information. First, let's review what BPA is and how it relates to receipt paper:

What is BPA?
BPA is an industrial chemical best known for making polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. It's often found in hard plastic water bottles and baby bottles, coatings inside metal food and drink cans, paints, adhesives and other products. BPA is an estrogen-mimicking chemical that, in tests on animals, has been shown to interfere with the reproductive system.

BPA and thermal receipt paper
BPA is used as a developer in some thermal receipt paper. Retail receipts, gas pump receipts, ATM applications and other POS transaction receipts may contain BPA depending on the source of the paper stock. BPA is not commonly found in thermal labels, tickets and tags. Examples include supermarket labels, event tickets, airline baggage tags, etc. If you are interested in sourcing BPA-free paper for your business, it is generally available at a 10-20 percent higher cost.

What is being done to eliminate BPA from thermal paper?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working on this matter and is sponsoring an initiative designed to assist the thermal paper industry in finding safer alternatives to BPA as quickly as possible. For more information on BPA health concerns, you can visit The National Institute of Health.

What is the latest news about BPA?
On May 23rd, the Environmental Health Research Foundation (a nonprofit research foundation specializing in Health and Environmental Science) stated "Despite the prevalence of recent media articles and blogs about Bisphenol A (BPA), there has been no change in U.S. regulatory policy", "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) position on BPA remains unchanged, noting the lack of any creditable evidence of risk to human health". In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) has stated that further regulation on BPA would require more scientific findings than are currently available.

For more information regarding the health and safety of BPA, click here.

About Stephen Enfield

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