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Triclosan - Poison of the Week


Triclosan, one of the most prevalent antibacterial compounds found in products, is the focus of a campaign undertaken by a coalition of health and environmental groups led by Beyond Pesticides and Food & Water Watch, aimed at removing triclosan from the market. Studies have increasingly linked triclosan (and its chemical cousin triclocarban), to a range of adverse health and environmental effects, from skin irritation, allergy susceptibility, bacterial, endocrine disruption and compounded antibiotic resistant, tainted water, and dioxin contamination to destruction of fragile aquatic ecosystems.

When introduced to the market in 1972, triclosan was confined to hospital and health care settings. Since then triclosan has exploded onto the market place in hundreds of consumer products ranging from antibacterial soaps, deodorants, toothpastes, cosmetics, fabrics, toys, and other household and personal care products. Triclosan’s impact on the consumer market has been aided by the false public perception that antibacterial products are best to protect and safeguard against potential harmful bacteria. However, an article in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, entitled "Consumer Antibacterial Soaps: Effective or Just Risky?" (2007), concludes that antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain soaps. This follows a recommendation by the FDA Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee on October 20, 2005 in a statement that antibacterial soaps and washes are no more effective than regular soap and water in fighting infections.

Research into triclosan’s health and environmental impacts is only just underway, despite its widespread consumer use. Studies have found that it persists in the environment, contributes to the increasing rates of bacterial resistance, has endocrine disrupting properties and causes adverse health problems in humans and wildlife species.

See a list of common products containing triclosan. http://www.beyondpesticides.org/antibac ... oducts.htm

•Triclosan is a potent inhibitor of estradiol and estrone sulfonation in sheep placenta (Environ Int. 2010)
•Some flame retardants and the antimicrobials triclosan and triclocarban enhance the androgenic activity in vitro (Chemosphere. 2010)
•Triclosan Exposure Modulates Estrogen-Dependent Responses in the Female Wistar Rat (Toxicol. Sci. 2010)
•Short-term Exposure to Triclosan Decreases Thyroxine In Vivo via Upregulation of Hepatic Catabolism in Young Long-Evans Rats (Toxicol. Sci. 2010)
•Alteration of testicular steroidogenesis and histopathology of reproductive system in male rats treated with triclosan (Reprod Toxicol. 2009 )
•Estrogenic and androgenic activity of triclosan in breast cancer cells (Journal of Applied Toxicology, 2007)
•Short-term in vivo exposure to the water contaminant triclosan: Evidence for disruption of thyroxine (Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2007)
•Environmental oestrogens, cosmetics and breast cancer (Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006)
•The effects of triclosan on puberty and thyroid hormones in male wistar rats (Toxicological Sciences, 2008)

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?cat=155
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=4523
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3_supp/levy.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/antibact ... ngers.html
https://secure.eznettools.net/D305742/X ... -soap.html
http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/0602 ... l_soap.htm
http://www.everydayhealth.com/jillian-m ... 7Aod2mMeKQ


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