“Every day, more than 7 million transactions across our stores use the eReceipt option, with individual customers saving an average of 13 metres of paper every year.”

Retail giant Wesfarmers owns Kmart and Bunnings. A Wesfarmers spokeswoman said Kmart receipts were free of BPA and BPS.

“At Bunnings, thermal receipts are also BPA-free and the division is considering BPS-free options with suppliers in the future,” she said. “Tradie customers receive digital receipts and retail customers can also opt for digital receipts.”

Professor Ian Rae from the University of Melbourne’s School of Chemistry said the health risks of BPA on receipts were “quite small”, but said they would be greatest for people who handled lots of thermal paper.

“That means not us as customers, who handle it occasionally, but the cashier who hands us the receipt,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine cashiers wearing gloves, but a good hand wash at the end of the shift would be a wise precaution.

“BPS is a little safer than BPA, but only because it doesn’t migrate as much from one material containing it to another, such as human skin.”

“BPS is a little safer than BPA, but only because it doesn’t migrate as much from one material containing it to another, such as human skin.”

Professor Ian Rae

Professor Oliver Jones from RMIT University said there needed to be more studies and toxicological investigations into BPA alternatives, such as bisphenol S and bisphenol F.

“They are very similar structurally to BPA but we know far less about them,” he said.

“In my view, any chemicals used as replacements for BPA should be tested to demonstrate that they are safer than the chemical they are replacing (eg BPA) before they are introduced into the market.”

PlanetArk, which has published a report on the issue, has recommended that workers consider wearing gloves, washing their hands after a shift and avoid using hand sanitisers, which have been found to increase absorption of the chemical.

Unions welcomed the moves by Australian retailers to eliminate BPA in receipts and to transition towards digital receipts.

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association NSW secretary Bernie Smith said: “Where digital receipts are implemented, it is important that it is a simple process that does not aggravate any issues around customer abuse.”

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Smith said various bodies had maintained that exposure levels to BPA from receipts were not problematic. However, the union believed that eliminating the risk, as had been done in Europe, was still the best option.

“The SDA welcomes moves to remove any potential source of harm and interim measures to reduce exposure,” Smith said.

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