Don’t Touch The Store Receipt!

Store receipts are proving toxic with BPA poisoning. Multiple tests are showing the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A which was originally brought to market as a method of birth control, is leaching into our skin from contact. The thyroid gland, the adrenals and the reproductive system are all taking a hit directly from the toxic overload. 

A recent documentary shows the growing concern over plastics in many forms including their damage where they pointed out, “In one two and a half-inch-long fish we found 83 pieces of plastic,” said Captain John Moore, founder of Algalita Research Foundation. Angela Sun’s documentary Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch showed through personal blood tests PBA leaches from store receipts, showing the problem is only getting worse. 

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Geneticist Patricia Hunt began studying the effects the chemical when it destroyed one of her experiments gone awry. Egg defects were found in 40% of her mice control group when only 1.5% is usually seen. She tracked the cause down to the janitor who was using the floor cleaner to wash the cages and waterbottles. This harsh cleaner scarred the plastic enabling BPA to leach into the water supply and environment of the mice. 

Hunt says bisphenol A was originally invented as birth control but since it was slow in effectiveness the product was ignored until years later when it was used in plastic. When the plastic is compromised, like it was from the janitor’s cleaning fluid allowing the BPA to leach out, it enters our bodies. This low dose estrogen proves to damage the system uncontrollably. 

Currently America’s largest export goes to China in the form of plastics. The product is reconstituted into bags, park benches, imitation wood for decking and fleece clothing (click here to view more).

The biggest source of BPA poisoning today is through touching thermal paper used for receipts. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported, “All of the 18 thermal papers we tested were coated with either BPA or BPS.”  They go on to say, “Cashiers have higher levels of BPA in their body fluids than other occupations.”

To determine if your recipt is thermal paper that will leach BPAs into your system look for these signs:

     * The receipt discolors when scratched with a hard item, like your keys. 

      * The receipt are thin with a sheen.

       * The ink does not rub off as the heat from thermal printing is what develops the ink.

Urine tests proved cashiers have the highest BPA in their bloodstream. PubMed says, “By occupation, cashiers had the highest BPA concentrations (GM: 2.8 μg/g). Consuming canned vegetables at least once a day was associated with higher BPA concentrations (GM = 2.3 μg/g) compared with those consuming no canned vegetables (GM = 1.6 μg/g). BPA concentrations did not vary by consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, canned fruit, or store-bought fresh and frozen fish.”

The Environmental Working Group studied the transfer of BPAs from receipts and found, “Wipe tests conducted with a damp laboratory paper easily picked up a portion of the receipts’ BPA coating, indicating that the chemical would likely stick to the skin of anyone who handled them. The receipts came from major retailers, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, fast-food restaurants, post offices and automatic teller machines (ATMs).”

Angela Sun performed a test for her documentary where she had her blood tested, then she held tight to a freshly printed sample receipt and then had her blood retested. She compared her before and after blood with a scientist Frederick vom Saal who has had dozens of scientific papers published on the dangers of BPAs. Vom Saal said, “You definitely get exposed to bisphenol A by touching it, it definitely goes through the skin. Substantial amounts of it do so very rapidly. You are getting massive amounts of bisphenol A on your hands when you touch thermal paper.”

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry completed a similar study saying, “After 60–90 min, BPA applied to the skin as a solution in ethanol was only partially or no longer at all extractable with ethanol, whereas BPA transferred to the skin by holding thermal printer paper remained largely extractable after 2 h. This suggests that penetration of the skin depends on the conditions.”

They go on to say, “It can enter the skin to such a depth that it can no longer be washed off. If more than just the finger pads contact the BPA-containing paper or a hand cream enhances permeability of the skin, this margin might be smaller.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency funded a study on BPAs and thermal paper testing 19 hospitality businesses. They found, “All the thermal receipt paper tested in this study contained either BPA or BPS in various quantities.” None was found on the standard recycled paper receipt. Specifically, “Nine tests of thermal paper indicated presence of BPA in quantities ranging from 54–79 mg /cm2 . Nine tests indicated presence of BPS in quantities ranging from 37–75 mg /cm2 .”

With these findings the EPA has put forth recommendations, “To identify known and potentially functional alternatives to BPA in thermal paper and to provide information on their potential hazards.”

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*Nourishing Plot is written by a mom whose son has been delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia through food. This is not a news article published by a paper trying to make money. This blog is put out by a mom who sees first hand the effects of nourishing food vs food-ish items. No company pays her for writing these blogs, she considers this a form of missionary work. It is her desire to scream it from the rooftops so that others don’t suffer from the damaging effect of today’s “food”.