Triclosan persists in the environment, breaks down into substances highly toxic to wildlife, pollutes the human body, and poses health risks that are barely studied and poorly understood.
Taken together, many studies now demonstrate that triclosan is certainly not the safe and healthy bacteria-fighting hand soap ingredient we once might have assumed….Triclosan tends to bioaccumulate….or become more concentrated in the fatty tissues of humans and other animals….Lab studies link triclosan to cancer, developmental defects, and liver and inhalation toxicity…Triclosan may affect the thyroid and other hormone systems… A recent lab study found the chemical to exert both estrogenic and androgenic effects on human breast cancer…Triclosan contaminates streams and is toxic to wildlife….Triclosan forms other dangerous compounds….[including] methyl triclosan, a form of dioxin, chloroform [Emphasis is editor’s]. ….The EPA has approved triclosan for use in 20 pesticide formulations applied to 140 types of consumer products, without ever assessing the safety of this pesticide for babies and children. [Emphasis is editor’s].
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