lea Jarnberg

Minnesota Bans Triclosan!

Dreams really do come true!! This is a MAJOR win, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first read about the ban. If you’re not up to speed with what Triclosan is, I’ll catch you up. Triclosan is a chemical additive found in pretty much everything that says antibacterial (like soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc), the problem with it is that it’s really toxic.

It’s toxic for us humans, it alters our hormone function (endocrine disrupter), causes immune system problems, developmental and reproductive toxicity, cancer and a lot more. But that’s not it, Triclosan’s effects on our environment are super toxic too. Studies have shown that it bioaccumulates in the tissues of fish, that it is acutely and chronically toxic to aquatic organisms like algae, and it causes reproductive and developmental effects in fish. To make things even worse, Triclosan is a contributing factor to antibiotic resistance aka super bugs!

If you think that’s bad, just wait.. Lets say you wash your hands with Triclosan containing soap, it then goes to a wastewater treatment plant, where it is repeatedly exposed to chlorine, then it’s released into the environment where the sunlight transforms the chlorinated Triclosan into dioxins and other chlorinated compounds (NOT GOOD!). “Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer.” say’s the World Health Organization. So now where not only dealing with the highly toxic Triclosan where dealing with it’s buddy, the super toxic Dioxin.

Well at least when you buy a Triclosan containing product you’re getting all the antibacterial benefits it promises, right? WRONG!! So wrong, even the FDA, yes the FDA, say’s regular soap and water is just as effective as this “magical” antibacterial soap. Interestingly enough Triclosan was first registered as a pesticide in 1969, yeah a pesticide!! So you’re probably thinking what the beep?! How is this legal?! Why isn’t every state banning this chemical?! And my answer to you is money, ignorance, and inadequate testing. Sadly this chemical is only one of the hundreds of toxic, poorly reviewed, down right dangerous substances we use in our everyday life.

Now you may be feeling betrayed and a tad depressed after reading this (welcome to my life), but there’s hope. The wonderful state of Minnesota finally passed a ban on the sale of any cleaning products within the state that contain Triclosan! The only bad thing is that the ban only takes effect on January 1, 2017… Why you may ask? Lobbyist that’s why! None the less, it’s progress, gruesomely slow progress but I’ll take it.

Fun fact: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that Triclosan is present in the urine of at least 75 percent of Americans! Cool beans.

P.S. Don’t contribute to the problem, Stop using Triclosan! Check the ingredients in the back of your soap for Triclocarban and Triclosan. Switch to natural soaps!

Peace out

-Léa

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