Do physical rail tickets have bisphenols, phthalates, or PFAS substances?

[showchaser]

Hello all. A slightly esoteric question which I cannot find the answer to online. The new receipt-style tickets are printed, I think, on thermal paper, which has become famous for effects which harm fertility and health.

There was a European directive to ban certain bisphenols in receipt paper, however others are still permitted.

Does anyone know if any of the physical tickets in use—magstripe, receipt, or the new white ones—have these harmful substances.

It may sound overly timid to ask, however even contact for a second can lead to harmful absorption.

New EU legal requirement - ban on cash receipts with BPA

From 2 January 2020, it is no longer permitted to use receipts with the substance bisphenol A (BPA). That is why we offer a more environmentally solution.

www.delfi.com

From 2 January 2020, it is no longer permitted to use cash receipts with the substance bisphenol A (BPA). Banners and receipts printed on thermal paper may contain bisphenol A, and from the turn of the year it has been forbidden to use thermal paper containing bisphenol A in concentrations of 0.02% by weight or more...

 

[najaB]

It may sound overly timid to ask, however even contact for a second can lead to harmful absorption.

I am doubtful that a second's contact will result in harm, a reliable source would be appreciated.

 

[showchaser]

I am doubtful that a second's contact will result in harm, a reliable source would be appreciated.

This is a big problem!

See this link for the collation of some study results. https://www.ecocenter.org/about-bpa-and-bps-receipt-paper

The issue is that on thermal paper, the substances are printed in a free form rather than bonded to the material, which increases their availability for uptake on contact.

This study found that BPS, which is supposed to be safe, crosses the dermal barrier to a highly dangerous degree after 5 minutes of handling.

Acknowledging Receipts? New Evidence for Dermal Absorption of Bisphenols - PMC

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This study found that rubbing a BPA receipt for 10 seconds caused a person to ingest roughly half of the (higher) American safe daily level. Their conclusion was that handing five BPA receipts a day could be be seriously harmful to human health.

Study Details BPA Exposure From Receipts | Trellis

New tests show that simple handling of receipts can transfer as much bisphenol A (BPA) though skin as humans get exposed to from canned food. The tests also found BPA on paper money, hinting that BPA is easily coming off of receipts and onto other items.

trellis.net

Sorry, it really sucks.

 

[najaB]

This:

This study found that rubbing a BPA receipt for 10 seconds caused a person to ingest roughly half of the (higher) American safe daily level.

is not the same as this:

even contact for a second can lead to harmful absorption.

Note that the study you've referred to was funded by two organisztions whose aim is to lobby against the checmicals industry. That's not to say that the research automatically invalid but study results that lead with "Organistion that lobbies against X finds that X is dangerous" or "Organisation that promotes Y finds that Y is beneficial" should always be given healty dose of scepticism.

 

[Yew]

Their conclusion was that handing five BPA receipts a day could be be seriously harmful to human health.

And yet, supermarket checkout assistants don't seem to be dropping like flies.

 

[najaB]

And yet, supermarket checkout assistants don't seem to be dropping like flies.

I have no basis to dispute that there is some negative health impact, but I rather suspect that the rhetoric is well in advance of the science.

 

[showchaser]

I am not going to try to proselytise—I do not want to browbeat others into believing something.

This said, I would be grateful if anyone who knows the composition of these different physical stocks could weigh in to confirm if—or if not—the tickets contain any of these substances.

 

[najaB]

I am not going to try to proselytise—I do not want to browbeat others into believing something.

It's not about browbeating, if there's a genuine risk then it's worth discussing. But don't be surprised if there's pushback and requests for information from unbiased sources.

 

[philthetube]

And yet, supermarket checkout assistants don't seem to be dropping like flies.

The relevant point would be if they are dropping like flies in 20 years, as in miners of asbestos handlers.

 

[najaB]

The relevant point would be if they are dropping like flies in 20 years, as in miners of asbestos handlers.

Thermal printers have been in common usage for a good few decades now, so I would have expected the dropping to have already started.

 

[PG]

The relevant point would be if they are dropping like flies in 20 years, as in miners of asbestos handlers.

Thermal printers have been in common usage for a good few decades now, so I would have expected the dropping to have already started.

Thing is a fair number of checkout operators are part time workers so the link (if any) may take longer to become apparent. Also possibly fewer who remain in the same position throughout their working lives unlike e.g. miners.

 

[dosxuk]

Faxes were commonly printed on thermal paper for a long time. With how many people handled them on a daily (and repeated) basis across many industries, we definitely would have seen some effects by now if the level of risk suggested above existed.

 

[Starmill]

It's not about browbeating, if there's a genuine risk then it's worth discussing.

The OP didn't actually ask if there were a meaningful risk or not from the substances, only what substances might, or might not, be present on roll tickets.

 

[najaB]

The OP didn't actually ask if there were a meaningful risk or not from the substances, only what substances might, or might not, be present on roll tickets.

I might be inclined to agree had they simply asked the question. However, in the OP, they state that such a risk existed:

The new receipt-style tickets are printed, I think, on thermal paper, which has become famous for effects which harm fertility and health.

It may sound overly timid to ask, however even contact for a second can lead to harmful absorption.

Meaning that discussion of the degree of risk is also a fair topic.

For completeness, they didn't only ask about roll tickets.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

Of the sources given:

* delfi.com- biased source - the manufacturer of an alternative product!
* ecocentre.org - biased source - a campaigning organisation
* The paper on pubmed.org appears to discuss absorption - but not health effects.
* The (14 year old!) article on trellis.net appears to be informed by a paper from two biased sources - campaigning organisations. Mostly discusses absorption again with some unsourced claims about health effects.

We have to be so careful about sources being presented as legitimate and take a careful look at who is doing the presenting...

 

[Haywain]

Does anyone know if any of the physical tickets in use—magstripe, receipt, or the new white ones—have these harmful substances.

You could contact the main (only?) manufacturer of rail ticket stock, Paragon ID, and ask them, or submit an FOI request to one of the nationalised train operators.

 

[Starmill]

In France you often see "printed on paper free of Bisphenol A" or similar.

 

[mikeg]

In France you often see "printed on paper free of Bisphenol A" or similar.

Actually where I work (a supermarket), the outer boxes for our till rolls specify "Bisphenol A free". We were also required to throw away all of our existing till roll of a certain age at one point a few years ago, though unsure whether it was to do with this.

Words are my own and not those of my employer.