Handling Receipts Increases Exposure to Harmful Chemicals, Says Study

Retail workers who handle paper receipts may be exposed to “worrying” levels of the hormone disrupting chemicals BPA and BPS, according to new Canadian research.

The Environmental Defence Canada (EDC) study found handling thermal paper receipts may significantly boost cashiers’ exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) – industrial chemicals that have been linked to diabetes, obesity, ADHD, and breast and prostate cancer. Some studies have also suggested that BPA may affect human reproductive and other systems by mimicking human hormones.

The experiment

Two members of the Environmental Defense Canada staff, along with the co-authors of the book “Slow Death by Rubber Duck,” avoided known sources of the chemicals for two weeks. They then had BPA and BPS levels in their bodies measured before and after holding receipts for 17 minutes – the estimated time a cashier spends handling receipts during a standard 8-hour shift.

Both BPA and BPS levels rose significantly after handling the paper receipts, with BPS levels climbing by an average of 67.1 times for each participant. One participant applied hand sanitiser (commonly used by cashiers) before the experiment, and saw a 115.4 times increase in their BPS level after handling the receipts. This is consistent with previous research that showed hand sanitisers increase skin absorption of bisphenols from receipts.

Environmental Defense’s toxics program manager, Muhannad Malas, who was a participant in the study, said the experiment served to highlight just how easily BPA and BPS can be absorbed through the skin into a person’s body.

“To see the levels of BPA and BPS in my body grow upwards of a hundred-fold just from holding receipts is mind boggling.”

“It is even more alarming that this is happening in the bodies of hundreds of thousands of women and teenage cashiers who are more biologically vulnerable to the effects of these chemicals.”

Along with being found in dozens of everyday products, BPA or BPS are commonly added to the chemical mixture that coats thermal paper used for printing receipts, tickets and transit passes.

Countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan and those in the European Union, have previously banned the use of BPA in baby-related items – prompting many manufacturers to begin producing ‘BPA-free’ products.

Malas said that while BPS was increasingly replacing BPA on thermal paper, its health impacts are more or less the same according to scientific research.

“What we know is that many companies have moved away from BPA in receipts in the past few years, but have unknowingly switched to BPS receipts that are marketed as BPA-free.”

“This is a perfect illustration of the failure of Canada’s toxics law to adequately protect Canadians and help businesses replace harmful chemicals with safer ones.”

Environmental Defence Canada is now calling for an immediate government commitment to ban the use of BPA and BPS by 2021.

Advice for retailers:

• Switch to bisphenol-free thermal paper.
• Provide e-receipts.
• Ask customers if they need a receipt before printing.
• Provide cashiers with non-toxic protective gloves or food grade silicone fingertips until safer thermal paper is procured.

Advice for cashiers:

• Fold the receipt with the printed side in, as the back side is likely uncoated with bisphenol.
• Ask your employer to switch to non-bisphenol receipt paper.
• Avoid the use of hand sanitisers and wash your hands thoroughly whenever possible during your work shift, especially before eating.