Harmful BPA Replacements Contaminate Store Receipts

“Would you like your receipt?” Maybe not.

Your exchange with the grocery store checkout clerk may seem like an odd time to worry about hormone-disrupting chemicals, but for decades, receipts printed on thermal paper have been treated with the potent endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A.

Considerable progress has been made to remove this toxic chemical from food cans and reusable food and drink containers, but manufacturers still rely heavily on it as a color developer in inkless thermal paper. In response to public and regulatory pressure to remove BPA from the market, they have turned to bisphenol S, a closely related, structurally and toxicologically similar alternative.

A rapidly growing body of scientific evidence strongly indicates that BPS disrupts hormones and harms reproductive, developmental, metabolic and cardiovascular health, just like its predecessor, BPA. Other preliminary evidence suggests BPS may play a role in altering immune function or in the development of certain cancers and asthma.

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