14 DAY TRIAL // According to a new research conducted in France, it would appear that the dangerous compound BPA (bisphenol A) can pass through human skin. This raises new concerns about the safety of this chemical.
BPA is one of the most common chemicals. We come in contact with products containing it every day, mostly plastics and resins. Even the receipt papers you get from the cash register contain BPA, as do plastic bottles and some snack packages.
The BPA-rich powdery coating on the receipts can easily rub into the skin, shows one of three studies that French scientists published recently. This chemical is an estrogen-mimicking substance.
“The new study is now unequivocal in showing that yes, BPA can go through human skin,” says researcher Frederick vom Saal, who is based at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Despite studies that show adverse effects of human exposure to this compound, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is stubbornly refusing to toughen up regulations concerning BPA.
In a review of about 400 pregnant women in the Cincinnati area, researchers determined that highly elevated levels of BPA were primarily present in those working as cashiers.
The author of that paper, scientist Joe M. Braun, concedes that “these results should be interpreted cautiously since estimates from cashiers were based on 17 women.”
Still, the findings are worthy of more in-depth studies. This research will be published in an upcoming issue of th esteemed scientific journal Environmental Health, Science News reports.
Despite the fact that authorities seem unwilling to step on the toes of big oil business, many people are beginning to become aware of the health implications of being exposed to BPA.
Customers in many countries are beginning to call for BPA-free receipt papers, and some producers are beginning to take note of this. Leading US producer of thermal-receipt stock Appleton Papers claims that its paper has been free of the compound for 4 years.
“Consumers have made it clear that they want an easy way to distinguish Appleton’s receipt paper from our competitors’ paper, which all contain BPA,” explains Kent Willetts, the vice-president of the company.
“We are preparing to launch a BPA-free receipt paper that can be quickly and easily distinguished from all others. We will rush that product to market and have it in retailers’ hands in time for the holiday shopping season,” he concludes.