According to a new report released by the Ecology Centre, a US non-profit working for environmental health, the receipts taken from grocery stores on any purchase dispensed by the ATM carry an under-recognized source of hormone-disrupting chemicals.

The report revealed that the receipt paper contains high concentrations of bisphenols, especially bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS). Bisphenol has been linked to reproductive harm for a very long time. For this report, the team collected 74 receipts from 144 major chain stores in 22 US states and the District of Columbia.

The analysis of the receipts showed that 80% of the receipts contained bisphenol (BPS or BPA), especially those taken from grocery stores, restaurants, department stores, drugstores, and gas stations. Mrs. Melissa Cooper Sargent, an environmental health advocate at the Ecology Centre of Michigan, stated that receipts are a common exposure route for hormone-disrupting bisphenols, which are readily absorbed through the skin.

Meanwhile, in 20% of receipts, the report also identified safer chemical substitutes like BPS. Although BPS is promoted as a safer alternative to BPA, according to the study, both of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors linked to health problems, including cancer. The report also added that more than just customers, employees who work in these establishments are at increased risk due to their continuous potential exposure to endocrine-disrupting BPS or BPA. 

(Source: https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/printed-receipts-from-atm-or-grocery-store-may-be-toxic-says-report-123032801036_1.html )