October 29, 2014
One thing you probably touch every day, over and over again, it’s cash register receipts.
Now researchers have found that those innocent-seeming pieces of paper contain high levels of bisphenol A, the same chemical recently banned from plastic water bottles because of the serious long-term health risks it poses.
According to a study published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, people’s blood levels ofBPA spiked after they touched cash receipts—particularly if they had lotion, sanitizer, or another skin care product on their hands.
“BPA has been proven to cause reproductive defects in fetuses, infants, children, and adults as well as cancer, metabolic, and immune problems in rodents,” said study author Frederick vom Saal, a professor of biology at the University of Missouri.
”Our research found BPA levels from receipts much higher than exposures from food packaging or plastic,” added vom Saal. “And BPA from thermal papers will be absorbed into your blood rapidly. At those levels, many diseases such as diabetes and disorders such as obesity increase as well.”