Carbonless Copy Paper - Health and Environmental Concerns

Health and Environmental Concerns

Until the 1970s, when the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was banned due to health and environmental concerns, PCBs were used as a transfer agent in carbonless copy paper. PCBs are readily transferred to human skin during handling of such papers, and it is difficult to achieve decontamination by ordinary washing with soap and water. In Japan, carbonless copy paper is still treated as a PCB-contaminated waste.

Exposure to certain types of carbonless copy paper or its components has resulted, under some conditions, in mild to moderate symptoms of skin irritation and irritation of the mucosal membranes of the eyes and upper respiratory tract. However, a 2000 review found no irritation or sensitization on contact with carbonless copy paper produced after 1987. In most cases, good industrial hygiene and work practices should be adequate to reduce or eliminate symptoms. These include adequate ventilation, humidity, and temperature controls; proper housekeeping; minimal hand-to-mouth and hand-to-eye contact; and periodic cleansing of hands.

The University of Florida has found that chronic exposure to carbonless copy paper can be hazardous to a person's health. Scientists there found higher rates of sick leave and illness complaints at the office using large amounts of carbonless copy paper. Furthermore, a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives provides new evidence that exposure to paper dust and carbonless copy paper in office work are related to increased risk of adult-onset asthma.

The average carbonless copy paper contains a high concentration of Bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor.

In 2001, three employees of a medical center in San Francisco filed a lawsuit against their employer, blaming exposure to carbonless copy paper and other chemicals for their inflammatory breast cancer.