Researchers Find BPA in Cash Register Receipt Paper
Two recently released studies have purportedly found high concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) in the thermal paper used by many retailers to print cash register receipts. Researchers with the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Massachusetts tested 10 blank cash register receipts from Boston-area businesses and found some had BPA concentrations as high as 19 mg on a 12-inch long receipt. Ted Mendum, et al., “Concentration of bisphenol A in thermal paper,” Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews, July 28, 2010. They suggest that businesses avoid an potential health risks by using BPA-free receipt paper. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) also apparently studied BPA concentrations in cash register receipts, submitting 36 samples from fast food restaurants, large retailers, grocery stores, gas stations, and post offices to a lab for testing.
According to EWG, 40 percent of the samples had high BPA levels, in some instances 250 to 1,000 times greater than levels found in canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula. EWG could not say what fraction of the BPA on cash register receipts might be absorbed through the skin, but it did say that its presence could be of concern to retail workers who handle hundreds of receipts each day. “Federal data analyzed by EWG shows that retail workers carry an average of 30 percent more BPA in their bodies than other adults.”
EWG reports that retailers use thermal paper because the BPA and dye coatings allow them to print receipts without using ink. In addition to calling for retailers to switch to BPA-free alternatives, EWG advises consumers to avoid allowing infants and children to handle receipts, keep saved receipts in a separate envelope, wash hands thoroughly after handling receipts and before preparing and eating food, and refrain from recycling receipts and other thermal paper as BPA residues will “contaminate recycled paper.” A coin rubbed on a receipt will reveal whether it is thermal paper because the heat of the friction will apparently discolor thermal but not conventional paper. See Environmental Working Group Featured Article, July 27, 2010.
