Widespread occurrence of bisphenol A in paper and paper products: implications for human exposure.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Bench analytical chemistry and exposure modeling with no direct human subjects data (Level 5 by design analogy)
PubMed 21939283 · doi:10.1021/es202507f
What was done
Researchers measured bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations in 15 types of paper products (total n = 202 samples), including thermal receipts, flyers, magazines, tickets, envelopes, newspapers, food contact papers, food cartons, boarding passes, luggage tags, printing papers, business cards, napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper collected from several US cities, along with thermal receipts from Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Daily intake through dermal absorption was estimated using measured BPA concentrations and assumed handling frequencies for the general population and occupationally exposed individuals.
What was found
BPA was detected in 94% of thermal receipt papers (n = 103) at concentrations from below the limit of quantitation (LOQ, 1 ng/g) to 13.9 mg/g, with a geometric mean of 0.211 mg/g. Among non-thermal paper products (n = 99), 81% contained BPA at concentrations ranging from below LOQ to 14.4 microgram/g, with a geometric mean of 0.016 microgram/g. Recycled paper products such as napkins and toilet paper contained microgram-per-gram levels. Calculated daily dermal intake based on median concentrations was 17.5 ng/day for the general population and 1300 ng/day for occupationally exposed individuals, with thermal receipts accounting for over 98% of paper-related exposure.
Why it matters
This study documents widespread BPA contamination in thermal and recycled paper products while indicating that dermal absorption from paper handling is minor relative to dietary intake.
Limits
Human exposure was estimated via theoretical exposure modeling rather than direct in vivo biomonitoring of serum or urinary BPA concentrations. The sample set was limited to 202 convenience samples, which may not fully represent global manufacturing variations or diverse workplace handling practices.
Cited by
- context Thermal paper receipts are one of the top sources of human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA).