Triclosan, an anti-microbial substance classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a pesticide, is used in thousands of consumer products from soaps to sandals, often under the brand name Microban. The chemical has been found in wastewater and the environment at concentrations that alarms scientists.

What's in your kitchen? Triclosan-containing soap photo,
by Flickr user trekkyandy / CC BY-SA 2.0

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Event: Food & Water Watch,
Whole Foods host drop-off
event to dispose of
anti-bacterial triclosan (9/12)

Other Articles of Interest

• Sigg to take back BPA-lined bottles

• Sigg reveals BPA in bottle lining prior to August 2008

Web Resources

• Food & Water Watch triclosan factsheet
  

• Environmental Working Group on triclosan
  

Triclosan may be harmful

The American Medical Association is considering an official recommendation against using triclosan in the home. Triclosan disrupts protein development in bacteria but can encourage bacterial resistance to the product. The chemical can also bio-accumulate – increase in concentration as it moves up the natural food chain – in animals and people, with unknown consequences. The chemical is structurally similar to DES, a non-steroidal estrogen linked to cancer from prenatal exposure, raising concerns that it could act as an endocrine disrupter and mimic estrogen in developing fetuses and children. BPA is another endocrine disrupter that's been making headlines.

Triclosan may not be effective

Most soaps marked as anti-bacterial soaps contain the chemical but many experts question its efficacy. In 2005, a panel at the Food & Drug Administration voted 11 to 1 that triclosan was no more effective in preventing infections than regular soap and water. Since all soap and the process of hand washing itself is anti-bacterial, the chemical is not necessary.

Avoiding triclosan

Avoiding triclosan in personal care products is an exercise in careful label reading. Triclosan and triclocarbon should be disclosed on the labels of soaps and shampoos.

Other products are a different story. Avoiding triclosan in shoes, diaper changing tables, toys, and other consumer products, means looking for the Microban logo, advertising copy that includes terms like "anti-microbial" and "anti-bacterial," or calling the manufacturer.