Touching paper receipts with bare hands doubles chemical accumulation
- 6 years ago
The paper receipts we handle nearly every day are known to contain chemicals that could be harmful our health.
A new study shows that touching these receipts with bare hands doubles the risk of absorbing the harmful chemicals.
Park Se-young has more.
Most paper receipts from stores and restaurants contain the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA.
Prolonged exposure to BPA can have hormone-like effects and may increase the risk of miscarriage.
This is why Europe has restricted the use of BPA in cash receipts since 2016, …and Korea has also been encouraging the use of digital receipts since last year.
Korean researchers recently studied urine samples of 54 middle-aged women who have been working as retail store cashiers for a median period of 11 years.
They found that the average amount of BPA in their urine more than doubled when the cashiers worked with bare hands for two consecutive days.
When they worked with gloves, the BPA levels did not increase.
The researchers also found elevated insulin resistance in cashiers with high concentrations of BPA.
They suggest digital receipts as a safer option and recommend discarding paper receipts as soon as receiving them.
"The study shows that just wearing gloves can reduce occupational exposure to zero. Since ordinary people usually handle fewer receipts, there is no need to worry unnecessarily."
The study was published in the journal Environment International.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
A new study shows that touching these receipts with bare hands doubles the risk of absorbing the harmful chemicals.
Park Se-young has more.
Most paper receipts from stores and restaurants contain the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA.
Prolonged exposure to BPA can have hormone-like effects and may increase the risk of miscarriage.
This is why Europe has restricted the use of BPA in cash receipts since 2016, …and Korea has also been encouraging the use of digital receipts since last year.
Korean researchers recently studied urine samples of 54 middle-aged women who have been working as retail store cashiers for a median period of 11 years.
They found that the average amount of BPA in their urine more than doubled when the cashiers worked with bare hands for two consecutive days.
When they worked with gloves, the BPA levels did not increase.
The researchers also found elevated insulin resistance in cashiers with high concentrations of BPA.
They suggest digital receipts as a safer option and recommend discarding paper receipts as soon as receiving them.
"The study shows that just wearing gloves can reduce occupational exposure to zero. Since ordinary people usually handle fewer receipts, there is no need to worry unnecessarily."
The study was published in the journal Environment International.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.