Shop, Then Wash Hands

It's been widely reported that BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical (biologically active estrogen mimic) that is linked to cancer, infertility and early puberty, is found in high levels on some thermal paper cash register receipts.  So, the Washington Toxics Coalition and  Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition conducted a study to see if our money was contaminated as well.  Turns out, it is.

The BPA on receipts is found in a powdery film on the paper's surface, unlike the bound BPA in plastics, and can readily spread to anything it comes in contact with... our skin, money, and the insides of our purses and wallets.  There's really no way to easily tell if a receipt contains BPA unless you have access to a lab, so if you're out shopping, make sure you wash your hands.  (A good practice anyway, since it's cold and flu season, and sick people are everywhere!)

If you happen to work in, or know someone who works in, a retail store, you can ask the owner or manager if he/she can check with their paper supplier to see if it contains BPA.  (If the supplier happens to be Appleton Paper, they acknowledged safety concerns about BPA and went completely BPA-free in 2006.)  And if receipts do contain BPA, you may want to try to wash your hands more frequently, or even don some gloves or finger cots, which are like latex gloves, but only the finger.  Limiting exposure may be especially important for teenage employees who are still growing, or pregnant/nursing women.

I've got to get back to work (it's Wilava's busy season!), so I'll leave you with  a link to the press release from the Washington Toxics Coalition -- they even list stores where they found both BPA-laced and BPA-free receipts -- and additional links to the full report.