Too Clean

Triclosan, an antimicrobial agent, is showing up in breast milk and blood.

I recently began subscribing to the newsletter of NORMAN (the Network of Reference Laboratories for Monitoring Emerging Environmental Pollutants). NORMAN is a consortium of European environmental agencies, and the newsletter proves interesting because the Europeans are doing lots of cutting edge work on the interface of health and environment. The current edition of the newsletter reported on research documenting triclosan exposure in nursing mothers in Sweden. The researchers reported that "triclosan and/or its metabolites are omnipresent in both plasma [blood] and breast milk from nursing mothers and that concentrations were clearly and significantly higher in the exposed group (i.e., the group that uses products containing triclosan) than in the control group.”

This particular article caught my attention because just a few days ago, I stumbled across an interesting PBS video about the Hygiene Hypothesis. Basically, the Hypothesis says that people can be too clean. People (especially children) who aren't exposed to dirt and microscopic organisms are more likely to suffer from autoimmune problems such as asthma and allergies. Why? Because their immune systems aren't being exercised, and like the organs and muscles of the body, the immune system does need exercising.

So why, exactly, are we using this stuff in sufficient quantities that it is "omnipresent" in nursing mothers? That's a damn good question. If anybody from Colgate (they use it in toothpaste), or Revlon (in lip gloss), or the dozens of other manufacturers who put it in their products would like to pipe up, let the rest of us know: Why are you putting this stuff in so many products?

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bacteria

OK, another mission. Look around and see if you have any products labeled antibacterial. Probably you do: 45% of all soaps and detergents now contain Triclosan or Triclocarbon--antimicrobial agents that the advertising industry has convinced us we need. They are not the only things containing these chemicals, which are added to a range of products from baby carriers to socks, and deodorant to toothpaste. Over a million pounds of the stuff finds its way into consumer products each year.

These chemicals were developed in the 1970s for surgical scrubbing. Soon they were extended to broader uses in hospitals, to help control the spread of infections. These are probably good and appropriate uses for such chemicals, afterall if the doctor is going to be cutting into me, I want him to scrub with an antimicrobial compound. But we don’t need that same level of protection for day to day use. Washing with good old-fashioned soap works fine for controlling the germs that the average American encounters.

You might say, "well it can't hurt to play it safe, and use an antimicrobial," but you'd be wrong. Studies have shown that when these chemicals mix with chlorine (which is found in most municipal water supplies in this country) it creates chloroform, a known carcinogen. Other studies have shown that these chemicals increase the development of resistant strains of bacteria in the environment, so when the surgeon scrubs with them, they may no longer work. And, still other studies demonstrate that they alter a person’s normal microflora, those microorganisms that live on our skin, in our mouths, and in other body areas, and that are absolutely critical to good health. This negatively impacts our immune system and seems to lead to a greater chance of allergies, particularly in children. In other words, too much hygiene yields increased allergies, because the body's natural defense system hasn't been adequately trained to attack invaders. In the immune system's case, practice makes perfect, and over-cleanliness doesn't give it the practice it needs.

Once they get washed down the sink, the antimicrobials pass through wastewater treatment, discharged to streams where they interfere with the balance of organisms living in the stream, or they accumulate in sludge, which is often applied to farm land that grows crops. Out in nature, they don't break down readily, so they just continue accumulating and working their way up the food chain.

Oh, and one more thing about them: they, too, are endocrine disruptors. So, the next time you go to purchase soap or any other personal care or household cleaning products, just pass over the containers that say antibacterial.