Abstract
Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting environmental contaminant used in a wide variety of products, and BPA metabolites are found in almost everyone’s urine, suggesting widespread exposure from multiple sources. Regulatory agencies estimate that virtually all BPA exposure is from food and beverage packaging. However, free BPA is applied to the outer layer of thermal receipt paper present in very high (∼20 mg BPA/g paper) quantities as a print developer. Not taken into account when considering thermal paper as a source of BPA exposure is that some commonly used hand sanitizers, as well as other skin care products, contain mixtures of dermal penetration enhancing chemicals that can increase by up to 100 fold the dermal absorption of lipophilic compounds such as BPA. We found that when men and women held thermal receipt paper immediately after using a hand sanitizer with penetration enhancing chemicals, significant free BPA was transferred to their hands and then to French fries that were eaten, and the combination of dermal and oral BPA absorption led to a rapid and dramatic average maximum increase (Cmax) in unconjugated (bioactive) BPA of ∼7 ng/mL in serum and ∼20 µg total BPA/g creatinine in urine within 90 min. The default method used by regulatory agencies to test for hazards posed by chemicals is intra-gastric gavage. For BPA this approach results in less than 1% of the administered dose being bioavailable in blood. It also ignores dermal absorption as well as sublingual absorption in the mouth that both bypass first-pass liver metabolism. The elevated levels of BPA that we observed due to holding thermal paper after using a product containing dermal penetration enhancing chemicals have been related to an increased risk for a wide range of developmental abnormalities as well as diseases in adults.
Highlights
Bisphenol A [BPA; bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane; CAS #80-057] is one of the highest volume chemicals in commerce with 15billion pounds produced per year [1], and based on the presence of BPA metabolites in urine, it can be concluded that virtually everyone is exposed [2,3]
The print surface of thermal paper is coated with milligrams of free BPA per gram paper as a heat-activated print developer [6], and it appears that free BPA is readily transferred to other materials that the thermal paper contacts [7]
These findings suggest that bisphenol S (BPS) is as commonly used as BPA as a developer in thermal receipt paper
Summary
Bisphenol A [BPA; bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane; CAS #80-057] is one of the highest volume chemicals in commerce with 15billion pounds produced per year [1], and based on the presence of BPA metabolites in urine, it can be concluded that virtually everyone is exposed [2,3]. BPA has estrogenic and other endocrine disrupting activities [4,5]. Our interest is in the use of BPA in thermal paper, which is used for airline ticket, gas, ATM, cash register and other types of receipts (Figure 1). A factor that has not been considered in estimating transdermal exposure to BPA from thermal paper is that hand sanitizers are commonly used, in fast-food restaurants where people may handle thermal receipts before eating or ordering food. Hand sanitizer and other skin care products may be used by cashiers while working. Exposure to BPA from thermal paper goes beyond just transdermal exposure and consumption of food that is picked up and eaten with a BPA-contaminated hand
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