Chemicals are constantly present in daily life and appear in thermal paper such as receipts. By littering chemicals frequently end up in ecosystems, namely lakes and streams. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether receipts distributed 2022 were toxic for aquatic organisms.
The method studied the mortality of Daphnia magna when exposed to receipts from various stores. Additionally, the study analyzed whether the thermal papers contained phenol by performing the Molisch’s test. The result of the model study indicated a relation between mortality and exposure of receipts. Molisch’s test also confirmed the presence of phenol in all analyzed thermal papers. The conclusion that could be drawn was that further research was necessary to confirm the toxicity of receipts.
Receipts are always offered upon purchase. Since BPA was restricted in thermal paper in the EU the chemicals that coated the paper have now been replaced by less researched chemicals. With our study we therefore wanted to determine whether receipts 2022 were toxic for aquatic organisms.
Documentation
Receipts 2022- Toxic for Aquatic Organisms? The project studied whether receipts distributed 2022 were toxic for aquatic organisms, in the short-term. The method was to study the mortality of the model organism, Daphnia magna, when exposed to receipts from various stores. Additionally, the study analyzed whether the thermal papers contained phenol by performing the Molisch's test.
