BPA detected often on receipts
Controversial chemical found 40% of time in study
By Lyndsey Layton
THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON – As lawmakers and health experts wrestle over whether the controversial chemical bisphenol-A should be banned from food and beverage containers, a new analysis by an environmental group suggests that Americans are being exposed to BPA through another, surprising route: paper receipts.
The Environmental Working Group found BPA on 40 percent of the receipts it collected from supermarkets, automated teller machines, gas stations and chain stores. In some cases, the total amount of BPA on the receipt was 1,000 times the amount found in the epoxy lining of a can of food, another controversial use of the chemical.
Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the environmental group, said BPA’s prevalence on receipts might help explain why it can be detected in the urine of an estimated 93 percent of Americans, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We’ve come across potentially major sources of BPA right here in our daily lives,” Lunder said. “When you’re carrying around a receipt in your wallet for months while you intend to return something, you could be shedding BPA into your home, into your environment. If you throw a receipt into a bag of food, and it’s lying there against an apple, or you shove a receipt into your bag next to a baby pacifier, you could be getting all kinds of exposure and not realize it.”
What remains unknown is how much of the chemical that might rub off onto the hands is absorbed through the skin or whether people then ingest BPA by handling food or touching their mouths.
First synthesized in 1891 and developed in the 1930s as a synthetic form of estrogen, bisphenol-A has been widely used in commercial products including plastic bottles, compact discs and dental sealants. Although it was regarded as safe for decades, recent research using sophisticated analytic techniques suggests that low doses can interfere with the endocrine system and cause a range of health issues, including reproductive problems and cancer.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents the chemical industry, said that although BPA can transfer from paper receipts to the skin, the level of absorption is low. *
“Available data suggests that BPA is not readily absorbed through the skin,” a spokeswoman said.*
The Environmental Protection Agency, however, recognizing that paper coated in BPA might be a significant route of exposure, launched an effort this month to work with paper manufacturers, the chemical industry and environmental groups to encourage companies to find alternatives to BPA in receipts.
The Environmental Working Group’s report can be found online at www.ewg.org/bpa-in-store-receipts.
*We all know that the skin is the body’s largest organ. Further, science tells us that what we put on the skin IS absorbed into the body.. . . . . Jan
