New York Times Green Blog - Check your receipt: it may be tainted
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical used in plastic containers and the lining of food cans. It is a correlation to animal maladies and seems to disrupt endocrine functions. In this study, scientists collected the thermal receipts given by stores when a product is purchased. Thermal receipts work by heating the areas that need to be printed; the dye that coats the paper reacts to the heat (boils) and, through a chemical reaction, changes color. So that print can be applied anywhere on the paper, the dye used for the paper covers the entire paper. BPA is used in creating the dye, so it covers the paper as well. The chemical alone can account for up to 3% of the receipts' weight.
Researchers found that 100% of all store receipts sampled in the US had BPA in them. The next highest risk were tickets, newspapers and store flyers. Especially troubling is that this paper is often recycled and can get into recycled paper products like toilet paper, envelopes or regular paper. Previous studies showed that roughly 1/4 of all BPA that is on human skin penetrates it and enters the bloodstream within 2 hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment