Home ›› 06 Aug 2021 ›› Front
Cashiers working with the electronic point of sale (EPOS) machines are at a high risk of carcinogenic chemical Bisphenol A exposure.
Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) -- a local NGO focused on environment and public health issues – on Thursday unveiled its study report titled BPA in receipt: Toxin in finger online.
The study found a high concentration of the carcinogenic chemical in cash receipts dispensed by the electronic sale systems.
Cash Receipt, made of thermal paper, contains BPA 250 times as much as those of plastic and other such products, according to the report.
The chemical is detrimental heart, reproductive health and obesity apart from causing high blood pressure, diabetes, breast and prostate cancer and many other ailments.
ESDO collected 36 sample receipts from different places. Of them, five are from ATMs, six from fast food shops, two from bakeries and three each from restaurants, stationery shops, sweet shops, brand shops and drug stores, two from cash registers and the remaining six from EPOS machines.
The samples were tested in laboratory at the University of Minnesota Duluth in the US. ESDO found 0.8 per cent to 3.7 per cent mass of BPA relative to the mass of receipt weight.
Some countries including Japan and Belgium have already banned BPA use while the European Union imposed a limit on BPA concentration in thermal paper in 2020 at less than or equal to 0.02 per cent of the weight.
The study, however, has found that the awareness level about BPA among users and consumers is nearly a zero.
Hardly does anyone know much about the presence and harmful impact of cash receipt on human health.
The study recommends using alternatives to BPA which may be costly to some extent but is available in international market and not detrimental to human health.
“Consumer receives a receipt once or twice a day, but cashiers have to touch hundreds of receipts per day. A hand wash cannot remove BPA from skin. Thus people working in cash section run the risk of exposure,” said Abul Hasem, former chairman, Department of Chemistry, Jahangirnagar University.
“Hand wash cannot remove the chemical from finger tips. It can directly reach stomach when someone puts their hand in the food just after touching a receipt. Paper used in bank notes also contains BPA which need to be tested,” he added.
The Bangladesh Bank imports paper for bank notes maintaining confidentiality. We have no information about it, said Johura Shikder, deputy director, Chemical and Standard Wing, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution.
“At first we need to talk to people involved in the process. Awareness and better understanding is the key to find a solution,” said Md Ashraf Uddin, director general, Department of Environment.
Ashraf was delivering his speech as the chief guest at the launching ceremony of the study report.
“If consultation and awareness fail, then formulation of act and its enforcement need to be in place,” He made an assertion.
However, Masud Iqbal Md Shameem, director (Environmental Clearance) of the Department of Environment, maintained that they are formulating new rules to ensure the safe use of chemical.
“All chemicals will be under surveillance by these rules,” he said.
The Drug Administration and the Department of Agricultural Extension are controlling some chemicals related to their jurisdiction while hazardous chemicals and ship breaking waste management rules of 2011 are not being implemented properly, added the official.
Syed Marghub Murshed, chairperson, Dr Shahriar Hossain, secretary general, and Siddika Sultana, executive director of ESDO, spoke at the programme.
The discussants recommend regulating, banning or setting a limit to BPA use in cash receipts.
They also put emphasis on coordination among the ministries and the departments including the Department of Environment, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), National Board of Revenue, Drug Administration and businesses involved in the sector.
