Last year, the realization of Bisphenol-A (BPA) in our toilet paper was all over the blogosphere. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can cause disorders with chromosomal and reproductive system abnormalities, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity and resistance to chemotherapy. BPA is not put in toilet paper intentionally, but rather due to post-consumer sources of recycled thermal printing paper such as credit card receipts.
Just this week, I read an article from U.S. News & World Report (thanks Vital Juice Moms for bringing it to our attention!) in which one scientist’s concerns over BPA exposure from receipts is reported. John C. Warner of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry feels this BPA exposure is more harmful than that from cans and baby bottles. BPA from receipts can be transferred from your hands, onto your food, or is absorbed through the skin.
Mr. Warner explains that:
“When people talk about polycarbonate bottles, they talk about nanogram quantities of BPA [leaching out]. The average cash register receipt that’s out there and uses the BPA technology will have 60 to 100 milligrams of free BPA.”
U.S. News & World Report explains that by free, “it’s not bound into a polymer, like the BPA in polycarbonates. It’s just the individual molecules loose and ready for uptake.”
Mr. Warner suggests that pregnant women should wash their hands after touching any receipts since the ones containing BPA are indistinguishable from those that do not. Mr. Warner’s observations have not been published yet or peer-reviewed.
Photo from Flickr by Dan4th
3 responses so far ↓
Jennifer // October 13, 2009 at 6:14 am |
This is seriously disturbing. I knew that receipts had something other than just paper in them, but it never occurred to me that they could be dangerous to one’s health.
Jo // October 13, 2009 at 6:49 pm |
Aiii! What next?
Ali // October 29, 2009 at 9:43 am |
Hi there, I found you via blog catalog. I am raising awareness of BPA in plastic baby bottles in the UK and was just about to write a post on the potential dangers to pregnant women. Bisphenol-A seems to be everywhere, even on receipts. I am going to look out for Mr Warner’s findings when they have been published and reviewed. Thanks for the post, Ali @mindfulmum.