Cash Register Receipts and Money Also Contain BPA

It's becoming evident that simply avoiding plastics is not nearly enough to avoid BPA, as this toxic chemical is present in places you would least expect.

For instance, in a study published in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers analyzed paper currencies from 21 countries for the presence of BPA, and the chemical was detected in every sample. They also measured the transfer of BPA from thermal receipt paper to currency by placing the two together in a wallet for 24 hours. This dramatically increased the concentrations of BPA on the money, which suggests that receipts are highly contaminated.

The researchers estimated that you could be absorbing a few nanograms of BPA every day just from handling paper currency! This builds on prior research that also revealed thermal printer paper could be a dangerous source of BPA:

A study in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry found that of 13 thermal printing papers (the type often used for receipts) analyzed, 11 contained BPA. Holding the paper for just 5 seconds was enough to transfer BPA onto a person's skin, and the amount of BPA transferred increased by about 10 times if the fingers were wet or greasy.
A study commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG) detected BPA on 40 percent of receipts they tested from gas stations, supermarkets and other common retail outlets. According to EWG, "the total mass of BPA on a receipt is 250 to 1,000 times greater than the amount of BPA typically found in a can of food or a can of baby formula."
At this time it's unclear how much of your body burden of BPA is coming from these paper sources, but it would be wise to seek to limit or avoid carrying receipts in your wallet or purse, as it appears the chemical is transferring onto other surfaces it touches. It would also be wise to wash your hands after handling receipts and currency, and avoid handling them particularly if you've just put lotion or have any other greasy substance on your hands, as this may increase your exposure.

i read about this last year , which is a concern for me being an accountant .. as i handle ALOT of receipts.

i am handling them 8 hours a day 5 days a week.

Short of quitting my job and finding another carreer ..

i dont know how I can get around this except for wearing gloves which would entirely be too cumbersome...

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Well, we made a big stink about this last year when they switched over the libraries to a receipt system instead of stamping things with a due date (I return Everything late now because I lose all those slips, that's another story though) and after a couple of months they switched to non-BPA laden paper. So, at least you know there's an alternative. It's all still soaked in flame retardant though. Personally, I'd wear gloves Jo.

It's always something!

Thank you for the heads up. Yes, its always something. I don't handle that many receipts or money for that matter, so for me its probably not a big deal. I would be curious to know what would be the best thing for me to improve. Maybe I could start a webpage questionaire for possible sources of various toxins, poisons and other hazards. I guess that would be more for some professional in insurance to do all that. It probably exists already, although probably more conventional in perspective.

BPA Bring Papa Around

I'm in hospitality, so I touch lots of money and receipts and have been for years.

Thank god for drinking spring water.

Is there any food/nutrient known that could potentially inhibit the absorption of BPA? =\

Washing your hands well right after touching works. Within 20 minutes it has absorbed into the skin, those alcohol based hand sanitizers enhance and speed up absorption. I don't know the solution, those very thin medical gloves would work and not be too terrible.

coco,

Did you watch, "The Nature of Things with David Suzuki" last night? They were talking about all the endocrine disrupting chemicals in our environments that contribute to obesity and disbates mellitus, and possibly cancer. Children in utero are especially vulnerable to long-term effects. One scientists said that you can pick up 5 hundred-some mcgs of BPA from handling a receipt for a few seconds.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Some people will believe anything that reeks of "official" notice.

August 2009

On 3 August, Massachusetts' Department of Public Health advised mothers to take certain actions to prevent possible health impact in children. Mothers with children up to two years old were advised to limit exposure by avoiding products that might contain BPA, such as plastic drinking bottles and other plastic materials with recycling codes of 7 or 3.[243]

BPA was declared a toxin by Health Canada last year and they are a fairly conservative organization. If they're admitting it's bad you know it's terrible.