The Environmental Working Group has released a report suggesting that post office receipts may be contaminated with the “endocrine-disrupting chemical” bisphenol A (BPA). The report notes that the chemical

has been in the headlines nonstop as scientists, health experts and consumers press for a federal ban on food packaging made with this synthetic estrogen, shown to leach readily into infant formula, beverages and canned food. But most Americans are probably unaware that they are regularly exposed to the same endocrine-disrupting chemical in cash register receipts.

Major retailers using BPA-containing receipts in at least some outlets included McDonald’s, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, Walmart, Safeway and the U.S. Postal Service. Receipts from some major chains, including Target, Starbucks and Bank of America ATMs, issued receipts that were BPA-free or contained only trace amounts.

Scientists have not determined how much of a receipt’s BPA coating can transfer to the skin and from there into the body. Possibilities being explored include:

• Oral exposure — BPA moves from receipts onto fingers and then onto food and into the mouth.

• Dermal exposure — BPA from receipts is directly absorbed through the skin into the body.

A study published July 11 by Swiss scientists found that BPA transfers readily from receipts to skin and can penetrate the skin to such a depth that it cannot be washed off (Biedermann 2010). This raises the possibility that the chemical infiltrates the skin’s lower layers to enter the bloodstream directly. BPA has also been shown to penetrate skin in laboratory studies (Kaddar 2008).

via BPA in Store Receipts | Environmental Working Group.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 12:19 pm and is filed under postal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.