The printing industry is facing ongoing challenges with Washington State's regulations around inadvertent PCBs in inks and pigments. Gary Jones, VP of Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs at Printing United Alliance, provides an update on the state's efforts to regulate these trace chemicals, the industry's response, and the potential impact on printers, converters, and any products shipped into Washington.
Key points:
- Washington initially wanted to impose strict limits on inadvertent PCB concentrations in inks but was blocked due to federal preemption under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
- The state then proposed banning chlorinated pigments, which would effectively shut down the printing industry, as most pigments contain chlorine.
- The industry successfully lobbied against this legislation, but the state continues to pursue regulations, recently including inks in its 2025 plan.
- The industry is working to meet with state officials, provide detailed comments, and explain the lack of viable alternatives and the legal constraints they face.
- There are concerns the state could still move to ban chlorinated pigments, impacting printers, converters, apparel decorators, and any products entering Washington.
This video provides an important update on this ongoing regulatory issue and the industry's efforts to find a reasonable solution.
In this video, Gary Jones, VP EHS Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance addresses environmental regulatory issues. More information about the issues can be found at Business Excellence-EHS Affairs or reach out to Gary should you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business: gjones@printing.org.
To become a member of PRINTING United Alliance and learn more about how our subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.
