Receipt for Danger

BPA, the latest boogeyman in potentially dangerous chemicals we're exposed to via plastic bottles and cotainers, shows up in our lives in another surprising way.

From WaPo...

As lawmakers and health experts wrestle over whether a controversial chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA), should be banned from food and beverage containers, a new analysis suggests 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.

"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. If you throw a receipt into a bag of food, and it's lying there against an apple...you could be getting all kinds of exposure and not realize it." What remains unknown is how much of the chemical that may rub off onto the hands is absorbed through the skin or whether people then ingest BPA by handling food or touching their mouths.