NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8856
SPONSOR: Clark TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regu-
lation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper
PURPOSE:
To expand the provisions of current NYS law to prohibit the distribution
and use of paper containing bisphenol A for the recording of any busi-
ness transaction and to regulate chemical compounds that are used to
replace BPA.
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 alterna-
tive 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 States
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 mini-
mize 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 Alterna-
tives to BPA,• composed of competent, independent scientists with
substantial experience in evaluating toxicological and epidemiological
data on toxic chemicals, including their potential carcinogenic, endoc-
rine 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 alarm-
ing amount to SPA 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 Working Group (EWG) in Washington DC had a testing
program conducted by the Missouri Division of Biological Sciences labo-
ratory on receipts from major retailers, including Wal-Mart, Safeway,
McDonalds, the U.S. Postal Service, and Bank of America ATMs. The labo-
ratory found that the total mass of EPA 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:
New bill in Assembly
Senate History
S.0417 of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.1096 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.0087 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.2763 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.3513 of 2013-2014 (O'Brien): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.4532-A of 2011-2012 (Alesi): Died in Environmental Conservation
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act would take effect 180 days after it becomes law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8856
IN ASSEMBLY
January 18, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to regu-
lation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 37-0508 to read as follows:
3 § 37-0508. Regulation of bisphenol A in business transaction paper.
4 1. Bisphenol A prohibition in business transaction paper. No person,
5 firm, partnership, association, limited liability company or corpo-
6 ration, including banking organizations, shall distribute or use any
7 paper containing bisphenol A for the recording of any business or bank-
8 ing transaction including, but not limited to, receipts, credits, with-
9 drawals, deposits, and credit and debit card records.
10 2. Paper manufacturer responsibilities. a. No paper manufacturer shall
11 produce or distribute any paper containing bisphenol A which is prohib-
12 ited to be used or distributed pursuant to subdivision one of this
13 section.
14 b. Any paper manufacturer that produces paper containing bisphenol A
15 for the purposes referred to in subdivision one of this section shall:
16 (1) not replace bisphenol A with another chemical compound that has
17 been scientifically established to be a known human carcinogen as clas-
18 sified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a develop-
19 mental toxin, an endocrine disruptor or a reproductive toxin;
20 (2) use the least toxic alternative chemical compound to replace
21 bisphenol A;
22 (3) provide information on the chemical compound used to replace
23 bisphenol A to the department; and
24 (4) not manufacture such paper until the department shall have certi-
25 fied alternative chemical compounds to bisphenol A based upon the recom-
26 mendations of the advisory committee on least toxic alternatives to
27 bisphenol A.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05237-01-3
A. 8856 2
1 3. Department responsibilities. a. The department shall certify that
2 any chemical compound used to replace bisphenol A in the manufacture of
3 paper pursuant to subdivision two of this section is:
4 (1) the least toxic alternative available; and
5 (2) not a known human carcinogen as classified by the United States
6 Environmental Protection Agency, a developmental toxin, an endocrine
7 disruptor or a reproductive toxin.
8 b. Not less than once every calendar year, the department shall update
9 the requirements for certification of least toxic alternatives to
10 bisphenol A and provide such information to paper manufacturers subject
11 to the provisions of subdivision two of this section. Furthermore, the
12 department shall annually update its information on those chemical
13 compounds that are known human carcinogens, developmental toxins, endoc-
14 rine disrupters or reproductive toxins, and shall provide such informa-
15 tion to paper manufacturers subject to the provisions of subdivision two
16 of this section. The department shall make all information compiled
17 pursuant to this subdivision available to the public on the department's
18 internet website.
19 c. The department shall investigate and determine acceptable methods
20 of disposal and recycling of business transaction paper containing
21 bisphenol A so as to eliminate or minimize exposure to bisphenol A. The
22 department shall provide public notice of the safe practices for handl-
23 ing and disposing of such paper.
24 4. Advisory committee on least toxic alternatives to bisphenol A. a.
25 Within sixty days of the effective date of this section, the department
26 shall convene an advisory panel of experts for the purpose of advising
27 the department on least toxic alternatives to bisphenol A. The names of
28 the members of this committee shall be available on the department's
29 website.
30 b. The advisory committee shall be composed of competent, independent
31 scientists who have no current or past employment or financial conflicts
32 of interest with manufacturers of bisphenol A or products containing
33 bisphenol A.
34 c. Advisory committee members shall have substantial experience in
35 evaluating toxicological and epidemiological data on toxic chemicals,
36 including their potential carcinogenic, endocrine disruptive, reproduc-
37 tive, developmental or neurological effects. Chemicals considered to be
38 toxic shall be those likely to cause or contribute to acute illness or
39 chronic impacts negatively altering human biological functions or abili-
40 ty to respond to environmental assaults.
41 d. The advisory committee shall be convened within sixty days of the
42 effective date of this section and at such times as the department seeks
43 further recommendations or clarifications of current data. All meetings
44 and proceedings of the committee shall be subject to the provisions of
45 article six of the public officers law.
46 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
47 it shall have become a law.
