Bisphenols are used as color developers in thermal paper, including receipts, tickets, boarding passes, and luggage tags.
For years, bisphenol A (BPA) was widely used in thermal paper. BPA has since been restricted in thermal paper in the European Union, but it has largely been replaced by alternatives such as bisphenol S (BPS) and other chemical developers. The problem? Replacing BPA with another bisphenol doesn’t mean you’ve eliminated the endocrine-disrupting concern.
And you don’t have to eat the receipt to be exposed.
Your Skin Can Absorb Chemicals From Receipts
Bisphenols can transfer from thermal paper onto your skin. A human study found that after participants handled BPA-containing receipts for just five minutes, BPA continued to be eliminated in urine for days, with detectable levels still present after one week in half of the participants. One participant had detectable BPA in urine for nine days.
Another study found that people can handle thermal paper for much longer than the brief contact assumed in some exposure estimates. Researchers observed people holding receipts for an average of 11.5 minutes, with more than 60% allowing the paper to touch their palms.
And here’s something especially important:
Don’t use hand sanitizer before handling a receipt.
Research has found that some hand sanitizers can dramatically increase the absorption of bisphenols through the skin. In one study, participants who handled thermal receipts after using a BPA absorption enhancing hand sanitizer had substantially higher levels of bioactive BPA in their blood and urine.
How to Reduce Your Exposure
- Say NO thank you to receipts whenever possible.
Choose an email or digital receipt instead.
- If you need a paper receipt, hold it by the backside.
Fold it with the printed side facing inward and avoid unnecessary contact with the printed surface.
- Wash your hands after handling receipts.
Especially before eating or preparing food.
- Don’t use hand sanitizer immediately before handling receipts.
If you know you’re going to be handling thermal paper, use clean, dry hands instead.
- Don’t let children play with receipts.
Their smaller bodies and frequent hand-to-mouth behavior make reducing unnecessary exposure especially important.
Why This Matters for Fertility
When you’re trying to conceive, I don’t believe in obsessing over one exposure. But I do believe in reducing cumulative exposure where it’s easy to do so.
We are exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals from many sources every day: food packaging, personal care products, cleaning products, plastics, pesticides, fragrances, and thermal paper.
You don’t need to eliminate every exposure to make a difference.
Start with the easy swaps. And saying “no thank you” to a paper receipt is about as easy as it gets.
References:
PMID: 28759207, 29978145, 21367689, 28570582, 23454568
The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please work with your physician or qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your healthcare plan, particularly if you are pregnant, undergoing fertility treatment, taking medication, or managing a medical condition. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.