Dangerous bisphenol in receipts & tickets
Harmful chemicals in receipts and travel cards
16/08/2011
Greenpeace has found evidence of significantly elevated levels of bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) in most of the evidence in the analysis of sales receipts. The substances also used as plasticizers in plastic products are considered to be potentially hazardous to health and have therefore been banned in baby bottles since March of this year, for example.
The chemicals contained in the receipts can enter the body through the skin and thus cause long-term significant health problems, warn the experts at Greenpeace. The environmental protection organization had examined the receipts of eight companies and found on seven receipts significantly increased bisphenol A and bisphenol S values. This is particularly critical, according to Greenpeace, because the bisphenol is much more concentrated on the thermal printing paper of the receipts than, for example, in plastic products and, moreover, it can be solved much more easily on contact. The health risk associated with bisphenol-burdened cash register receipts should therefore not be underestimated, warns Greenpeace.
Harmful chemical on almost all receipts
At the on behalf of the environmental organization „Greenpeace's investigation revealed evidence of increased bisphenol levels on most supermarket labels as well as on expressing a ticket machine, so the testers discovered on the shopping slips of Edeka, Galeria Kaufhof and Deutsche Post Bisphenol A and on Kaiser's receipts , Aldi Nord and Rewe the related bisphenol S. Also the machine tickets of the German course contained Bisphenol S. Only on the cash receipts of the supermarket chain Lidl the experts could prove no arrears of the unhealthy chemical.Also used as so-called plasticizer in plastic products reacted with bisphenol the thermal paper of the receipts to dye, whereby the bills and other information in black or dark font appear.With the white areas of the slip, where no reaction has taken place, the bisphenol sticks and thus leads to the proven significantly increased loads. According to Greenpeace, bisphenol concentrations in the milligram range have been detected on the receipts, with the EU Food and Drug Administration (Efsa) already claiming a intake of more than 0.05 milligrams of bisphenol A per kilogram of body weight as harmful to health. In particular, children are therefore particularly vulnerable, because at a body weight less than twenty kilograms, the intake of one milligram of bisphenol daily can bring significant health problems.
Health risk due to bisphenol
According to Greenpeace, the scientifically proven health risks of bisphenol include, for example, impaired development in infants, since the chemical can irreversibly damage the maturation of the unborn and young children's brains. Also, recent studies have shown a link between bisphenol A and the risk of heart disease and breast and prostate cancer. In 2010, researchers had at the Science Congress „Endocrine Society“ In addition, a study was presented, which proves that bisphenol A disturbs the hormone balance considerably and thus promotes, among other diseases of the ovaries. In addition, US researchers at Harvard University came to the conclusion last year that bisphenol A can not only negatively affect the maturation of oocytes, but also the course of pregnancy. For example, women who were repeatedly affected by abortions had significantly elevated blood BPA levels. While all previous research has focused primarily on bisphenol A, this does not mean that bisphenol S can be harmful to health. According to Greenpeace, BPS is very similar to bisphenol A and so far has only been investigated much less well. Frequently, BPS is used as a BPA substitute because there is little evidence of health risks to date. However, the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) consider such a substitution of BPA by BPS extremely critical, since recent studies suggest that BPS may even exert a stronger estrogenic effect than BPA and thus threaten far more far-reaching effects on the hormone balance , In addition, BPS degraded by the human body worse than BPA, warn the experts. (Fp)
Read about Bisphenol:
Environmentalists: BPA ban completely inadequate
Ban on bisphenol-A in baby bottles
Lobbyists prevent Bisphenol-A ban
Study: Girls getting sexually mature sooner
Hormone-active chemicals threaten health
Federal Environmental Agency warns of chemical bisphenol A
Chemical bisphenol A found on receipts
Bisphenol-A causes infertility in women
Picture: Magnus Bühl