Laboratory tests found high levels of the estrogen-like chemical bisphenol A on 40% of cash register receipts from major U.S. businesses, the Environmental Working Group today reports.

BPA levels higher than those in canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula were detected on at least one of several receipts from Chevron, McDonalds, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, Safeway, the U.S. Postal Service, Walmart and the U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria, according to the private Washington-based research group.

In contrast, receipts from Target, Starbucks, Bank of America ATMs and the U.S. Senate cafeteria were BPA-free or contained only trace amounts.

Follow Green House on Twitter

BPA, a plastic hardener linked to breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health problems, reacts with dye to form black print on receipts handled by millions of Americans every day.

"A typical employee at any large retailer who runs the register could handle hundreds of the contaminated receipts in a single day at work," said Jane Houlihan, the group's senior vice president for research.

The Environmental Working Group collected 36 receipts from retailers in seven states and the District of Columbia and had them tested by the University of Missouri Division of Biological Sciences laboratory.

It says the lab's wipe tests, which easily removed BPA, indicate the chemical could rub off on someone's hands but adds that scientists have yet to determine how much is absorbed into the body.

Appleton Papers Inc. of Appleton, Wisc., the nation's largest thermal paper maker, recently removed BPA from its products, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun evaluating BPA alternatives in thermal paper.

Increasingly, states are moving to ban BPA from food and drink containers, primarily those meant for infants and toddlers, because of health concerns.

Bans are "not necessary," Steve Hentges, a BPA specialist at the American Chemistry Council, which opposes them, has told Green House. He says research shows BPA is safe.

In January, the Food and Drug Administration, which previously called BPA safe, announced it has "some concerns" about the chemical's potential effects on brain development of fetuses, infants and children. It did not say BPA is unsafe.

The Environmental Working Group recommends these tips for reducing BPA exposure from receipts: