Holding thermal receipt paper and eating food after using hand sanitizer results in high serum bioactive and urine total levels of bisphenol A (BPA).
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized human experimental challenge study assessing before-and-after biomarker levels.
PubMed 25337790 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110509
What was done
Men and women applied a hand sanitizer containing dermal penetration enhancers, held thermal receipt paper containing free bisphenol A (BPA; ~20 mg BPA/g paper), and then handled and ate French fries. Investigators measured transfer of BPA to hands and food, as well as resulting concentrations of unconjugated (bioactive) BPA in serum and total BPA in urine over time.
What was found
Free BPA transferred from thermal receipt paper to sanitized hands and subsequently to food. The combination of dermal and oral exposure led to a rapid average maximum increase (Cmax) of ~7 ng/mL unconjugated BPA in serum and ~20 µg total BPA/g creatinine in urine within 90 minutes.
Why it matters
Regulatory risk assessments often assume BPA exposure occurs primarily via diet through ingestion, where first-pass hepatic metabolism rapidly clears it. This study demonstrates that dermal penetration enhancers and mucosal/dermal uptake from routine receipt handling can bypass first-pass metabolism and cause substantial spikes in circulating bioactive BPA.
Limits
The abstract does not state the sample size (n), participant demographics, or whether a control condition (e.g., handling receipts without hand sanitizer or without eating) was evaluated simultaneously. Long-term clearance kinetics and clinical health outcomes were not measured.
Cited by
- supports Handling thermal receipts with hand sanitizers or creams increases dermal absorption of BPA into the bloodstream about a hundredfold compared to dry hands.