In recent years, many park biffies around here have provided hand cleanser for après-business sanitation.
Recurring epidemics of influenza and other illnesses have raised the value of personal fastidiousness. Scrubbing with plain soap and water most effectively stops the spread of microbes by hand, but in remote places such as parks, options are limited.
In a number of the public loos, the product provided is Microban, the trade name for antibacterial chemical triclosan.
Triclosan has been around for decades. Originally used only in hospitals, the chemical invaded North American homes in the 1990s. Triclosan now exists in many dish soaps, body washes, bar soaps and hand wipes.
It is included in those cloth-like recycled-plastic grocery bags that are available almost everywhere these days, in clothing, shoe insoles, mattress pads and even yoga mats.
About 75 per cent of liquid antibacterial soaps and 30 per cent of bar soaps contain it, while it can also be found in some soaps not labelled “antibacterial.” Many of us even put it in our mouths — some toothpastes contain it.
This is rather alarming. Triclosan has been shown to affect thyroid regulation in rats, frogs and many other animals, girl-hormone regulation in unborn sheep, and boy-hormone regulation in rats and fish.
In two studies published this year, researchers found it promoted breast-cancer development in rodents and interfered with sperm function in humans. Another study found evidence that it interferes with muscle activity in human cells, as well as in live mice and minnows.
It has also been shown to interfere with algae’s ability to convert sunlight into food — an effect some scientists believe would also apply to all green plants.
Triclosan’s superpowers extend beyond these results. It can also easily penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream, which makes it even scarier, whether or not you brush your teeth with it.
A 2008 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found the chemical in the urine of 75 per cent of people tested. It has also shown up in blood and urine of people around the globe. Another study shows that it accumulates in animals’ bodies over time — building with exposure, from day to day.
Concern also exists that repeated exposure to the chemical will encourage resistant bacteria to emerge, much like antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli have.
However, no studies have yet been published that show triclosan causes widespread negative health effects in humans. The 2012 preliminary assessment of triclosan published by Health Canada echoed those findings.
It concluded that triclosan is not harmful to humans, but in significant amounts could harm the environment. The agency has flagged the chemical for future assessment, which will consider new research as it becomes available, and may lead to different conclusions.
Meanwhile, regulators elsewhere are acting on the side of caution. In 2010, the European Union banned the chemical from all products that come into contact with food, such as containers and silverware.
This spring, Minnesota banned the chemical from cleaning products used for sanitizing or hand and body cleansing to be sold in the state after Jan. 1, 2017.
And last November, after 42 years of research and a three-year legal battle with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its findings on triclosan.
The agency also — more significantly — put the onus on the chemical’s manufacturers to prove that anti-bacterial soaps are both safe and more effective than plain soap and water.
Products that don’t meet these criteria will have to be reformulated, relabelled or removed from supermarket shelves by late 2016.
Triclosan may not yet have been shown to directly mess with the hormone regulation and function in living humans. It has, however, been shown to interfere with a diverse and broad range of species.
This suggests we all need to be cautious with the chemical.
Perhaps we can start by using triclosan-free hand cleanser in public washrooms like those in capital region parks.
And brushing our teeth without it. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s database of personal care products (ewg.org/skindeep) to see if your toothpaste passes the triclosan-free test.
