BPA sounds like the tag letters for an airport, but it's actually shorthand for a potentially scary and little-understood chemical called bisphenol A.

Preliminary research has linked BPA to cancer, heart disease, and other serious ailments which explains the uproar when BPA was found in some plastic bottles and other products.

So far, government scientists are being cagey about the potential risks of exposure to BPA. "While hundreds of studies have been done on bisphenol A, there are still many questions that need to be answered before we can better understand the potential for current exposures to affect human health," Dr. John R. Bucher, associate director of the National Toxicology Program, tells CBS News.

In any case, consumers should know that BPA is showing up in all sorts of consumer products. Take a look at seven that may surprise you...

Still asking for your receipts when making purchases? Hear this: receipts printed on thermal paper can have traces of BPA, according to a study published last September in the journal "Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry."

And thermal printing isn't just used in receipts. Think movie tickets, too. It's one more thing to think about before dipping your mitts into that big bag of buttered popcorn.

The sealants dentists use to protect teeth from cavities break down into BPA when in contact with saliva. That's the word from scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

The sealants are considered safe for kids, for whom they're most popular. And the exposure disappears a few hours after the sealants are applied. But researches at Mount Sinai advise pregnant women to steer clear.

The health police have been trying to shoot down soft drinks for causing all sorts of bad things, including tooth decay and obesity. And now they have more ammunition because soda cans have a plastic lining that contains traces of BPA.

Toilet paper makers have a dirty little secret they're probably not too eager for you to know: That innocent-looking roll of TP might have traces of BPA, according to a recent study from Denmark. Toilet paper is made from recycled paper, which often contains BPA.

Like canned soda, canned foods sometimes contain BPA. Soup, vegetables, beans, tuna, and fruit all seem particularly likely to have traces of the chemical, which leaches into foods from cans' plastic linings.

Wine has been celebrated for its heart-healthy antioxidants but no one is celebrating the recent finding that some wines can contain high levels of BPA. The problem seems limited to wines fermented in vats lined with plastic.