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Receipt Hazardous substances, bisphenols
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, there were 12.89 billion paper receipts issued by card payment in 2018, and the total issuance cost was 103.12 billion won when the issuance cost per receipt was about 8 won. In this way, a significant amount of receipts are used each year.
Receipts use thermal paper, which as the name suggests, is a special paper that reacts with heat to the surface of the chemical coating and the color appears. Thermal paper is often used in receipts and waiting lists in our daily lives.
But did you know that the coating chemicals on your receipt threaten your health? Bisphenol, the chemical in the receipt, is an environmental hormone that has a structure similar to the female hormone estrogen, and can disrupt hormones when exposed to the human body.
We met with Dr. Lee Sang-woo of the Predictive Toxicology Research Division of the Daejeon Safety Evaluation Institute to find out how receipts affect the human body.
"The toxicity of bisphenols has been reported in many studies for a long time. The most well-known part is that it can cause disruption in sex hormones, including precocious puberty, breast cancer, and sexual dysfunction. In addition, studies on the toxicity of bisphenol A using zebrafish have shown that it can also affect thyroid hormones involved in metabolism, which can lead to stunted growth."
Constant exposure to bisphenol A may increase the risk of diseases related to metabolic disorders and hormonal imbalances. Recently, bisphenols have been identified as crossing the blood-brain barrier and interfering with the synthesis of neurotransmitters, leading to behavioral disorders.
Can bisphenol, a toxic substance, enter my body just by touching it? The answer is "YES".
Absorbs bisphenols just by skin contact
According to a recent study conducted by Professor Kyungho Choi of Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health, 54 middle-aged female cashiers who had worked at a supermarket for an average of 11 years measured the concentration of bisphenol A in their urine as a result of receipt handling. Bisphenol A urine concentrations were compared when cashiers handled receipts without gloves for two consecutive days and when they handled receipts with gloves on during the same period.
As a result, the concentration of bisphenol A in urine (ng/ml) when handling receipts with bare hands was 0.92, 2.04 times higher than the previous level of 0.45. On the other hand, the concentration of bisphenol A when working with gloves was 0.51 before work and 0.47 after work, which did not show a significant difference.
This proves that bisphenols can be absorbed through the skin just by touching the receipt.
Bisphenols, more dangerous to touch than to eat
Did you know that bisphenols absorbed through the skin stay in the body longer? When bisphenol A was ingested from food, it almost disappeared after 24 hours, whereas when bisphenol A was absorbed through the skin, the concentration of bisphenol in the urine was high up to 48 hours. The blood retention time of bisphenol was up to 51 hours, which was 6.8 times longer than the 7.5 hours when ingested from food.
The results of this study suggest that receipts containing bisphenol A can remain in the body for a long time when touched. The daily allowance for an adult weighing 60kg is about 3mg, so the amount of bisphenol that is absorbed through the skin is harmless to the human body, but if the bisphenol absorbed through the skin remains in the body for a long time and accumulates in the body, it may have a potential toxic effect, so it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to it.
Infants, children, and pregnant women should be extra cautious.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Toxic Substances Control Program (NTP) has stated that the effects of potential exposure levels of bisphenol A on the brain, behavior, and prostate of fetuses, infants, and children are "somewhat concerned."
How to protect our body from bisphenols
First, make good use of e-receipts. Eco-friendly and cost-saving bonus! The Ministry of Environment has also promoted a campaign to replace paper receipts with electronic receipts, and many franchise companies have introduced and are using electronic receipts. Electronic receipts are attracting attention as an alternative to paper receipts because they are eco-friendly and convenient, as well as cost-saving.
Second, don't touch the receipt with your bare hands. In particular, touching receipts after using detergents and hand creams is especially bad because it increases the absorption of bisphenol A. If you have to touch the receipt due to the nature of your job, be sure to wear gloves.
Third, if you need a paper receipt, hold the back of a matte with low BPA. Even when storing it in your purse, it is recommended to keep it folded into the back. BPA can affect your pockets, bills, and anything else you come into contact with.
Fourth, if you touch the receipt, it is recommended that you wash your hands as soon as possible. You should wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water within 4 minutes of touching the receipt.
Paper receipts are already established in our lives, and it will be difficult to fall apart completely. However, if we are aware of the dangers of bisphenol A and practice ways to minimize our exposure to environmental hormones, we may be able to help protect our health.
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