BPA in thermal receipts raises questions about endocrine disruption and fertility. Evidence of exposure is not proof of individual infertility.
BPA in Receipts and Fertility
Bisphenol A Detected in Urine After Just 5 Minutes of Handling Receipts
“Would you like your receipt?” “Yes, please.”
We often accept receipts without a second thought after making a purchase. However, most of these receipts are printed on thermal paper, a specialized type of paper.
Some thermal papers have used Bisphenol A (BPA); formulations differ and other developers are also used. Receipts also contain other harmful substances, such as phthalates and nonylphenol (NP). In short, they are essentially clusters of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), commonly known as environmental hormones.
Bisphenol A is a well-known endocrine disruptor. When absorbed through the skin, it can interact with hormone signaling, but health consequences depend on exposure and the endpoint studied; this does not establish individual disease causation from receipts.
The amount of BPA found in a single receipt can be hundreds of times higher than the amount leaching from a beverage can or a plastic baby bottle. Merely holding thermal paper for five seconds can cause 0.2 to 0.6 micrograms (µg) of BPA to be absorbed through the skin.
Furthermore, tests measuring urinary BPA levels after individuals handled BPA-coated items for five minutes revealed that the concentration of BPA in their urine steadily increased for up to 48 hours.
Back in 2017, a research team led by Professor Kyung-ho Choi at the Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health published a study showing that simply handling receipts with bare hands doubles the concentration of BPA in the body.
The study evaluated 54 middle-aged female cashiers who had worked at grocery stores for an average of 11 years. When they handled receipts with their bare hands, the concentration of BPA in their urine nearly doubled, rising from 0.45 µg before their shift to 0.92 µg after work.
When BPA is absorbed through the skin, it remains in the body longer than when it is ingested through food. Additionally, skin absorption of BPA can occur much more readily in women than in men.
How BPA Triggers Declining Sperm Counts, Endometriosis, and Infertility
Environmental hormones significantly impair reproductive capacity. Experimental and observational research has investigated links with sperm measures and female reproductive disorders, with different levels of certainty across endpoints.
In particular, once Bisphenol A enters the human body, it acts as a “counterfeit” estrogen due to its structural similarity to the natural hormone. This counterfeit estrogen interferes with the proper functioning of real estrogen.
This interference can manifest in a wide range of symptoms, from reduced reproductive capacity to various metabolic disorders, and most notably, it erodes fertility through endocrine disruption. In women, excessive exposure to estrogenic activity increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
Animal studies have shown that chronic exposure to BPA disrupts implantation and early pregnancy, which are regulated by progesterone (a crucial female hormone influencing the reproductive cycle). Furthermore, reports indicate that the urinary concentrations of BPA and phthalates are notably higher in pregnant women who suffer from recurrent miscarriages compared to those with healthy pregnancies.
(Source: Green Post Korea)
Evidence and interpretation
Receipt formulations differ. A biomonitoring study of 77 cashiers and 25 non-cashiers examined BPA, BPS and BPSIP exposure. Exposure biomarkers alone do not establish infertility or a causal change in sperm count. Mechanistic and animal findings must be distinguished from proven effects at ordinary human exposure levels.
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