Identification and Quantification of Estrogenic Compounds in Recycled and Virgin Paper for Household Use As Determined by an in Vitro Yeast Estrogen Screen and Chemical Analysis

Abstract

The use of recycled paper for the manufacture of food contact materials is widespread, but very little is known about the presence of potential contaminants in the paper. The purpose of this study was to assess the worst-case migration of estrogenic active compounds using extracts of paper for household use. Twenty different brands of kitchen rolls, nine of which were made from recycled paper and the remainder from virgin paper, were obtained from retail shops. Paper extracts were subjected to (a) determination of the total estrogenic activity by using an in vitro estrogen screen based on yeast cells stably transfected with the human estrogen receptor alpha and (b) chemical analysis and quantification by GC/MS, GC/FTIR/MS, and GC/FID for detection of a variety of estrogenic compounds. A marked estrogenic response was observed in nine of the extracts, seven of which were made from recycled paper and two from virgin paper. The chemical analysis revealed that extracts made from recycled paper contained levels of bisphenol A ranging from 0.6 to 24 mg/kg of kitchen roll, whereas extracts from virgin paper contained no bisphenol A or only negligible amounts. In contrast, 4-tert-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenols, and di-n-butyl and diisobutyl phthalate were present to a varying degree in both recycled and virgin paper with no apparent preferable distribution between the two paper types. The estrogenic response of the two extracts made from virgin paper appeared to be due partly to the presence of the preservative propyl paraben. Diisopropylnaphthalene, which turned out to be weakly estrogenic active in vitro (EC(50) = 53 microM), was detected in minor amounts in most of the extracts with the major part, ranging from 0.3 to 4.7 mg/kg of paper, found in recycled paper. Our findings that recycled kitchen rolls contain bisphenol A and other xenoestrogens may apply to other types of recycled paper used for food packaging and emphasize the importance of identifying this and other contaminants in recycled paper in general. These data indicate that bisphenol A may be useful as a purity indicator for recycled paper.

Concentration of bisphenol A in thermal paper

“…In total, an estimated 1.5 million pounds of BPA will end up in paper recycling sites each year (3). Recycled paper used in household consumer products, such as paper towels, has been found to contain BPA (31,32). In addition, the pulping of recycled thermal paper may introduce a chlorinated derivative BPA into effluent water streams (33).…”

Advanced Oxidation Kinetics and Mechanism of Preservative Propylparaben Degradation in Aqueous Suspension of TiO2 and Risk Assessment of Its Degradation Products

“…Parabens are important antimicrobial preservatives that are widely used in many commercial products such as cosmetics, shampoo, creams, and paper. 1,2 The persistence and increasing amount of these emerging contaminants (ECs) in surface water and sewage systems have been reported in many countries. 3−5 This has raised concern about their potential risks to aqueous organisms and humans due to their acute and chronic toxicity, 6,7 as well as estrogenic effect of propylparaben (PPB).…”

Effects of the Environmental Oestrogens Bisphenol A, Tetrachlorobisphenol A, Tetrabromobisphenol A, 4‐Hydroxybiphenyl and 4,4′‐Dihydroxybiphenyl on Oestrogen Receptor Binding, Cell Proliferation and Regulation of Oestrogen Sensitive Proteins in the Human Breast Cancer Cell Line MCF‐7

“…Serum concentrations in normal Japanese men and women are found to be in the range of 0.64-1.49 ng/ml (Takeuchi & Tsutsumi 2002). Leakage of bisphenol A has been detected from polycarbonate bottles (Feldman & Krishnan 1995), food cans (Brotons et al 1995), and recycled paper (kitchen roll) (Vinggaard et al 2000). Bisphenol A was also detected in saliva after dental treatment with epoxy resins (Olea et al 1996).…”