So in a surprisingly-functional proposed ruling set to take effect in 2016, the FDA seems poised to +/-ban antibacterial soaps that show no definite efficacy over the average bear.
-Especially those that contain Triclosan and Triclocarban.
In this spot from the Leonard Lopate Show, Leonard interviews ASU Global Sustainability professor Dr. Rolf Halden on the subject and the revelations are pretty surprising.
It turns out these 50’s-era antimicrobials not only work by disrupting the microorganisms, but they also disrupt the Endocrine-Systems and Hormones of larger organisms, like fish, shellfish, animals;
-and People.
Another set of problems they create is fostering drug-resistance in microbes and the mutation toward superbugs for which there are not yet any serviceable medical weapons.
Dr. Rolf not only reveals that, but tells of a study on Hand-Washing, where the normal contact time an average person uses them turned out to be 20 seconds maximum.
ANNND: (For non-surgeon civilians) Antimicrobial soaps turned out to be No More Effective than plain soap and water.
Still further down the drain: -Just like many of the drugs we discussed earlier, these antimicrobials are Not Removed in Current Waste-Water Treatment Plants.
-They go straight out the exit pipes; in both the liquid and solid product of the plants. -Where they too can be included in soils for agriculture.
Which is a problem, because just like those drugs, they have enormous half-lives.
-And brings us to one of the scariest points Dr. Rolf makes in the talk.
No, not the one where Triclosan, Triclocarban, et. al. will probably be binding to the receptor-sites in your Thyroid hormone system and Lowering Your Metabolism.
-Nope, it’s the scarier one; which we won’t steal from Leonard’s show. You’ll have to listen to the podcast and Guess what that last bit is.
But I’ll give you a hint here: Dr. Rolf and his team have taken core samples from the sea-floor in both the Chesapeake and Jamaica Bays,
and the Triclosan released into the water back in the 1950s is Still There…
Check out the rest of the details in this ~40-year-old chemical-safety fight in podcast here, or over at WNYC.
Photo Credits:
Victorian Brooke’s Soap Ad, via: CrispCopy’s Pinterest
Links:
• Source: Lopate-Antibacterial Soaps
• More Coverage: Smithsonian Mag | ASU Biodesign- A Closer Look at Antimicrobials | ASUResearchMatters- Antibiotics In Rivers & Lakes
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