Sludge Watch ==> No to triclosan - by Don Maroc

[Maureen Reilly]

Our View from the left, Canadian historian/journalist Don Maroc has been 
reporting and evaluating community events in the Cowichan Valley for more 
than two decades. He has more than a half century of research, writing, and 
building coast-to-coast, arctic to the tropics.


There is such a thing as too much cleanliness
By Don Maroc - Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial - January 16, 2008


Is it possible to be too clean, too sterile? You bet it is and it can be 
downright unhealthy.

As usual it all starts with a cloud of fear generated by corporate marketers 
flooding the media with warnings that dangerous germs and viruses lurk 
everywhere in our homes waiting to attack us. Convincing us a web of disease 
is closing in on us, the chemical/pharmaceutical marketers throw us a 
lifeline called antibacterials or antimicrobials.

By far the most common chemical killer is called triclosan and its close 
relative triclocarban (TCC). Some homes are soaked with it. It’s in your 
soaps, toothpastes, deodorants, mouthwashes, and cleaning agents, it’s 
manufactured into kitchen utensils, plastic toys, bedding, socks, and 
garbage bags. Sometimes triclosan hides behind the brand names Microban and 
Irgasan.

The trouble with triclosan is it is almost too effective, which is why it 
has been a godsend for hospitals — buildings full of sick people — for the 
last 35 years. Your home is not a hospital but Triclosan kills 
indiscriminately, killing good bacteria that fight bad germs. Even Health 
Canada now recommends avoiding antibacterial products, and they should know 
after registering more that 1.200 cosmetic products containing triclosan.

When raised in an overly clean and sterile environment children’s immune 
systems are not sufficiently challenged and as adults they will lack natural 
immunities.

A recent study by University of Victoria molecular biologist Dr. Caren 
Helbing found that as little as one-millionth of a gram per litre of 
triclosan interferes with thyroid hormones.

Noting that triclosan has been detected in human breast milk, Helbing 
suggests “these levels are in the general range of what we tested, so 
triclosan may be having an impact on babies during a vulnerable time when 
thyroid hormones are important in their development.”

Fully 95 per cent of triclosan is used in homes where it is flushed down 
sink and shower drains. Many homes in the Cowichan Valley use septic systems 
to treat their effluent. If you pour enough triclosan into your septic tank 
it will kill the friendly bacterial action and cause the need for frequent 
pump-outs and/or expensive drain field replacements.

Even if you are on a municipal sewer the wastewater treatment plant does not 
effectively remove triclosan, which ends up in the Cowichan River estuary 
and Cowichan Bay.

The truth is there is very little reason to use these products. The 
University of Michigan School of Public Health has stated plain soaps are 
just as effective as consumer-grade anti-bacterial soaps with triclosan in 
preventing illness and removing bacteria from your hands.

If your comfort level needs a product in addition to handsoap use an 
alcohol-based sanitizer that doesn’t contain triclosan. To be effective in 
fighting germs a hand sanitizer must be at least 60 per cent alcohol.

As a small child when my mother scrubbed my hands and face with a harsh 
brown soap, I would scream, “Put the dirt back on.” Maybe that little boy 
knew something his mother didn’t.

Got a tip or a comment? E-mail me at maroc at islandnet.com.


http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/13821247.html