The Dangers of Triclosan & How to Avoid It

Triclosan, the controversial disinfectant that many associate with hand sanitizers, is actually in all manner of cosmetics and personal care products.

The Trouble with Triclosan

Triclosan is an antimicrobial, meaning that it kills harmful microorganisms. This can definitely be a good thing. If you’re in the hospital, for example, you want to know that everything from the nurses’ and doctors’ hands to their instruments are completely sterile. In a case like this, I think that you could make a pretty strong argument for using antimicrobials like triclosan.

The big problem with triclosan is that it’s become ubiquitous. It’s in a host of over the counter personal care products, and that means that it’s also in our bodies and washing down our drains.

There are quite a few health concerns associated with triclosan. It’s a suspected endocrine disruptor and carcinogen that accumulates in the body over time. Since it’s in so many products, many of us are exposed to triclosan on a daily basis through multiple products in our daily routine.

When triclosan makes its way into waterways, it breaks down into harmful dioxins, polluting waterways. When triclosan goes down the drain, it also gets mixed up with sewage sludge, and from there makes its way into our food supply. How does that happen? It turns out that EPA allows sewage sludge to be used as a fertilizer on food crops.

Over time, organisms that triclosan targets also start becoming resistant to the chemical. That’s bad news if you’re counting on the stuff to sterilize an operating room, for example. When we over-use these harsh chemicals, we make them less effective for situations where they could have been beneficial.

>>Next: Common products that contain Triclosan.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Geela G.

5:47AM PDT on Aug 21, 2012

Thanks for the information. Worth thinking about.

August 21
send a green star

Loo S.

11:33AM PDT on Aug 15, 2012

noted

August 15
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Abbe A.

3:10AM PDT on Jul 5, 2011

Thanks for the warning.

July 5
send a green star

Eternal G.

5:59PM PDT on Jun 13, 2011

Humans are mad!

June 13
send a green star

Annemarie W.

10:45AM PDT on May 31, 2011

thank you!

May 31
send a green star

Wes P.

1:06AM PDT on May 28, 2011

This means giving up my favorite soap (liquid safeguard), but I want to know I'm doing everything I can to be as healthy as I can for as long as I can.