Cash receipts ‘linked to cancer’!

Money surely corrupts,but catching cancer from receipts is really strange. Goodbye shopping?

The next time you take a cash register receipt after a purchase,do not forget to wash your hands,for a new study has claimed they contain high levels of ‘bisphenol A’ chemical linked to elevated risks for cancers as well as reproductive problems,diabetes and heart disease.

Scientists in the US have based their findings on a test of thermal-coated cash receipts which they collected from nearly 22 popular retailers and cafes. They found that half of them were coated with large quantities of BPA.

BPA is used to stabilise chemicals on thermal-coated paper so the receipt paper doesn’t take on every mark from every single thing touching it,and it better preserves the marks on the paper.

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“Since BPA in thermal paper is present in a powdery film,we suspected it could easily travel from those receipts to other objects,” said lead scientist Erika Schreder from the Washington Toxics Coalition.

The scientists said that holding the till receipts for even 10 seconds caused up to 2.5 micrograms of BPA to transfer from the paper onto one’s fingers,and rubbing them raised 15-fold the amount of BPA transferred from the receipts onto the fingers,the media reported.

Bisphenol A is actually an organic compound with two phenol functional groups used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins,along with other applications.

Previous researches suggested that Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor,which can mimic the body’s own hormones and may lead to negative health effects. In the European Union and Canada,BPA use has been banned in baby bottles.

It is enough to turn people off shopping. Surely?

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