EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The Eugene Public Library has switched to paper that does not contain the chemical bisphenol A for all library due slips and receipts.
The chemical, commonly known as BPA, is found in many plastic toys, baby bottles and even metal food cans.
But the chemical is also used to make ink visible on thermal-sensitive paper.
The Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry reports that human exposure to BPA is much greater in receipt paper than in bottles or cans. The Eugene library system uses about 50 cases of receipt paper per year.
The switch will boost the cost of receipt paper by about 5 percent but library officials concluded the increase outweighed the risk of chemical exposure.
