A new scientific study adds to the large and growing body of evidence that BPA in thermal paper does not pose any concern for human health.
The study by Mielke and colleagues models how BPA gets processed in the body, how efficiently it is metabolized, and the internal dose that is experienced by various organs (the pharmacokinetics) of ingested and dermally absorbed BPA. They show that neither BPA absorbed through the skin nor ingested BPA presents a risk to human health.
For their model, Mielke et al., use the worst case scenario of a person with their hands and entire forearms in contact with thermal paper for 8 hours, without washing. Their model indicates that the maximum concentration of BPA that could get into the body is 700 times lower than the concentration that may pose concern for the liver – the organ that is most sensitive to the effects of BPA. Furthermore, the authors model the combined effects of dermal absorption and oral intake; their model predicts that even when combined, the two sources of exposure will not reach the levels that would trigger concern for human health.