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When you heard that the increasingly controversial plastics ^[4] ingredient Bisphenol A, or BPA ^[5], was found in credit card receipts and other thermal copies you probably thought, Fine, I’ll use cash. But now there’s evidence that your good cash money is also contaminated with the stuff. Whether you’re using Euros, dollars, rubles or yuans, you’re being exposed to BPA on a daily basis.

A study ^[6] published in Environmental Science & Technology analyzed 156 bills from 21 countries and found that all contained traces of BPA (ranging from .0001 to 82.7 micrograms per gram). The cash was likely contaminated by being placed next to thermal credit receipts in a billfold, which the study showed was possible.

Humans can be exposed by touching the bills, but in practice the exposure is low. If you’re BPA-phobic, however, be especially careful to avoid cash in Brazil, the Czech Republic and Australia. In another blow to Americans’ economic egos, our currency was rated merely average in this regard as well. You could always move to Canada ^[7].

+ Environmental Science & Technology ^[6]

Via PhysOrg ^[8]

Lead photo by Flickr user Images_of_Money