Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Triclosan - The New BPA, It's Everywhere

A band of brown haze sits on the horizon, very sad.


Triclosan, it is everywhere and you need to know about it - for two reasons. One is what it is, and the products it is on, and the other is to ponder how on earth something like this gets past the FDA, is every where, and as consumers we have no idea. I will give you lots of resources for more in depth information otherwise I could be writing all day.

Triclosan simply falls under the category of pesticides. Makers of "things" put it on curtains, in soaps, clothing, flooring, fabric, and the list goes on. Under the name brand of Microban, triclosan is pitched as a wonder bug fighter.

No long term affects were done prior to FDA approval but there was and is plenty of discussion about the possible affects, mostly about the real possibility of creating super bugs resistant to the very product used against them.

Google Triclosan and the best articles appear on the first page. The most important one was recently published by the EWG and boy did they do their homework. Thank goodness for them. I strongly urge you to review this document.

So how did all this get started in the first place? How is it the FDA approves something like this for mass consumption and we the consumer, have no idea where it is because it is not required to be labeled? And if there is a label, it might just say antibacterial, so it must be good, right? So who is protecting us? Seems to be no one. How can a maker of a curtain even agree to have triclosan added to their product? What the heck for? (money?) Germs on a curtain? Come on!

So like BPA, Triclosan has been used insidiously for a long time. Long enough to possibly reek havoc with our bodies and mother nature. And we continuously wonder why we have the highest cancer rate in the world despite our civilized status. Maybe if the FDA and EPA actually did their job, which is to protect us, we wouldn't be in this mess. The word precautionary isn't in their vocabulary. This triclosan issue is nothing short of outrageous.

So what can you do now? I guess the usual. Write your politicians, tell others, get mad. Any other suggestions?

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