Restriction on BPA in thermal paper from 2020

Thermal paper is composed of a base paper with at least one coating which may contain Bisphenol A (BPA). The coating changes colour when exposed to heat, allowing the printed characters to appear.

In 2014, France submitted to the European Chemicals Agency a dossier highlighting a risk for workers (primarily cashiers) and consumers exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) by handling thermal paper receipts and proposed a restriction on the placing on the market of BPA in thermal paper in a concentration equal to or greater than 0,02 % by weight.

On June 2015, the ECHA Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) concluded that the proposed restriction is the most appropriate Union-wide measure to address the identified risks in terms of effectiveness in reducing those risks. On December 2015, the ECHA Socio-Economic Assessment Committee (SEAC) confirmed that a Union wide measure is justified and concluded that the proposed restriction is an appropriate measure to address the human health risks to workers. RAC and SEAC also concluded that the proposed restriction is implementable, enforceable, manageable and monitorable. 

In its opinion, RAC noted that Bisphenol S  (BPS), the most likely substitute according to France, may have a toxicological profile similar to BPA and might cause similar adverse health effects. Therefore, in order to avoid that the adverse effects of BPA would simply be superseded by the adverse effects of BPS particular attention should be paid to an eventual substitution trend towards BPS.

On the 1éth of December 2016, Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation was amended, by the introduction of a restriction on the placement on the market of thermal paper containing BPA in a concentration equal to or greater than 0,02 %. The restriction starts applying starting from the 2nd of January 2020.

Reference: COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2016/2235