EPA May Ban Triclosan, a Carcinogen in Antibacterial Soaps

Advertisements declare antibacterial soap to be an item that every household needs to order to fight germs and prevent illness. What these ads fail to mention, though, is that the soaps themselves could be making us sick.

Triclosan is a registered pesticide that appears in a host of consumer products from soaps to deodorants to toothpastes. It's the substance that makes antibacterial soaps antibacterial. However, a growing body of evidence links triclosan to health maladies like allergies, cancer, reproductive problems, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What's worse is that triclosan is completely unregulated by agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

That lack of regulation may finally be poised to change. As Change.org's Environment cause recently reported, a group of 86 non-profits including Food & Water Watch and Beyond Pesticides petitioned the EPA almost a year ago and asked the agency to consider banning triclosan for non-medical uses. The EPA seems like it's finally ready to listen. The agency announced that it is considering implementing a ban on triclosan and is opening up a public comment on the matter until February 7th.

A triclosan ban would be a huge coup for environmentalists and sustainable foodies considering just how ubiquitous the stuff is throughout our food and water supplies. Scientists say triclosan appears in 75 percent of Americans' urine and 55 percent of the country's rivers. Because triclosan appears in so many personal care products and many of these items like toothpastes and soaps end up washing down the drain, the toxin tends to crop up in our water and food supply. That's a huge problem because of the health problems associated with triclosan exposure, but also because the pesticide is toxic to aquatic life like algae. Eliminating the stuff would be a big undertaking, for sure, but the health and environmental pay-offs would be huge.

The EPA is also way behind the times when it comes to regulating triclosan. Both Japan and Canada already restrict triclosan's use. The E.U. classifies the substance as an irritant that's dangerous to the environment and aquatic life, and Denmark, Finland, and Germany have advised consumers not to use antibacterial products. The fact that the EPA and FDA fail to regulate triclosan whatsoever is downright threatening to the health of consumers and the environment.

The personal care product industry has already been slowly responding to consumers' fears about triclosan. Businesses like The Body Shop and Ikea refuse to sell products containing triclosan, while Colgate-Palmolive recently began phasing triclosan out of its handsoaps like those sold under the Softsoap brand.

It's important to keep the pressure on companies that use triclosan, but to really safeguard consumers' safety, we've got to push the EPA into action, too. Submit a comment to the EPA in favor of a triclosan ban before the public comment period ends on February 7th. You can also sign our petition asking the agency to enact a triclosan ban. We'll be delivering the signatures to the EPA, so the more signatures we have, the stronger our message will be.

Photo credit: the Italian voice via Flickr