Triclosan is a common antibacterial agent used in toothpastes, soaps, washes and cosmetics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), see their article here, say that triclosan is not known to be hazardous to humans, but lately this ingredient has been reviewed. FDA is reviewing all of the available evidence on this ingredient’s safety in consumer products but the sole fact that they have found this chemical in the blood and urine samples of teenager girls, is not a comforting thought. It is now a proven fact that triclosan not only increases resistance to bacteria, but that it also alters hormone regulation in animal studies.
The Scientific American Com reports that they have found an accumulation of triclosan in one third of the tested bottlenose dolphins off the coast of South Carolina and one fourth of the dolphins tested in Florida.
Studies on bullfrogs showed that triclosan disrupts the hormonal system blocking the tadpole’s development into frogs. This is shocking news even though quite expected if we think that 76% of soaps in the USA contain triclosan and 350 tons of it are used in Europe in commercial products.
Three quarters of people tested in the USA have triclosan in their urine and has been found in breast milk of Swedish women. You will find the complete article here. A study reported that triclosan has been found in human plasma and breast milk in higher concentrations in those mothers that used personal care products containing triclosan compared to those that did not. At this link you can read the disturbing news that over 95% of triclosan ends up in our waters for the fact that the water treatment plants do not remove it. This can end up in the production of dioxin and resistant-bacteria populations. Triclosan has also been found to be highly toxic to different types of algae and is therefore responsible for “the destruction of the balance of the ecosystem.“ Researchers in Sweden found high levels of triclosan present in the bile of fish in Sweden. It might also be an endocrine disruptor. Read the whole article here..