BPA: Toxic Receipts

BPA: Toxic Receipts

The SF Gate is reporting that the National Institutes for Health are recommending that we follow rat studies regarding the toxicity of BPA.  Bisphenol-A is found in plastics, including water bottles, receipts, Tupperware-style food containers, and as a lining in cans. 

Previously the plastics industry has argued that rat studies should be ignored, because rats aren't people.  An understandable argument, if a suspicious one, coming from the plastics industry!

BPA is an endocrine disrupter, which means that it throws your hormones out of whack.  It mimics estrogen, so repeated chronic exposure to BPA acts like a long term low level estrogen dose.  BPA is the suspected culprit behind a variety of problems, including early onset puberty in children and low sperm counts in men.  And as a known carcinogen, it is known to be a cause of breast cancer.

The real problem is that, in case you hadn't noticed, we are a society which runs on plastic.  Trying to reduce or eliminate your "plastic diet" is difficult; occasionally impossible.  I doubt there's a single thing an American touches or consumes in a day that hasn't been wrapped in plastic at some point.

The news about receipts is particularly alarming.  It turns out that thermal receipt paper is just reeking of BPA, and that people who handle receipts for a living - like grocery store clerks - have measurably elevated levels of BPA in their systems.  The Environmental Working Group found that two out of five receipts they tested had ridiculously high levels of BPA - up to 1,000 times more than what you would find in a can of food.

Very little noise is being made about this, from what I can tell.  I wonder what would happen if we learned that Blackberries give off as much BPA as receipts?  Or button-down Oxford shirts?  I imagine the outcry might be a bit more substantial.

This is an interesting aspect of public health: it is often not fair.  Just look at the way that maps of toxic waste dumping overlap with maps of poverty areas.  It's the poor and working class who often have to suffer these health hazards. 

One thing I have noticed about articles regarding the BPA in receipts is that they are almost universally written for the consumer.  They have advice like "wash your hands when you get home from the grocery store" and "don't let your child play with your receipts."  I guess the reporters imagine that grocery store clerks don't read the news?  That's pretty rude.

If you work with receipts for a living, speak to your manager about replacing the thermal paper with a BPA-free alternative.  (They do exist!)  If you don't want to be labeled a freak or a complainer, send an anonymous letter to your regional headquarters. 

Worst case scenario, always wash your hands after you leave the register.  Although Bisphenol-A can be absorbed through the skin, the big exposure comes when you touch your fingers to your mouth, or to things that you put in your mouth.  Luckily, it washes off well with soap and water.

I trust that if you work with the public, you're already in the habit of washing your hands after you clock out and before you eat or smoke.  Let this be a little added incentive to practice good hygiene!

Photo credit: Flickr/ben_onthemove