Your ‘customer copy’ bill might just be toxic
Some of the disorders caused include diabetes, cancer
Next time you swipe your debit card better not ask for the ‘customer copy’ receipt that rolls out of the machine. The thermal paper used for the receipt could be a health hazard.
Thermal paper, widely used for generating these receipts, is coated with Bisphenol-A (BPA), which is known as an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical (EDC). Though it makes the paper stable and heat resistant, and allows for inkless printing, it can cause serious ailments.
In recent studies conducted in Delhi by the Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation
Toxics Link, samples of thermal paper receipts collected from different markets showed the presence of BPA of between 600 ppm (parts per million) to an alarming 6600 ppm.
Endocrinologists from the city say these endocrine disrupting chemical can cause immune and thyroid disorders and various cancers. They are known to interfere with hormone action by altering the endocrine system.
“EDCs cause many disorders including hormonal imbalances, diabetes and various cancers. We should avoid coming in contact with these EDCs. It’s surprising to know the presence of BPA in thermal papers that we come in contact with very often in our day-to-day activities these days,” says the city’s noted endocrinologist, Dr Y. Sadasiva Rao.
“BPA is loosely bound with the thermal paper so there is a high chance of the chemical penetrating the human skin as well as contaminating the ecosystem,” Piyush Mohapatra, senior programme coordinator with Toxic Link told Deccan Chronicle.
“Globally efforts are being made to phase out or restrict the use of BPA in thermal papers as a precaution. Japan, Belgium, Denmark, Canada and France have banned the use of BPA in thermal paper and the European Union has set a limit of 200 ppm.”
Though research studies have found BPA levels of between 300 ppm and 6600 ppm in thermal paper used in India, “at present, there is no regulation for BPA content in thermal paper in India,” Mr Mohapatra said.