The bacteria on
your skin is safer than these two chemicals the FDA just banned from your soap.
Some people love to hate government regulations. Many believe
they’re just bureaucratic barriers that waste our time. But the Food and Drug
Administration just passed a new regulation that’ll actually protect us, and
may save you a few bucks and an unnecessary purchase at the store.
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who buys antibacterial soaps, you’ve been, at a minimum, duped. But
more importantly, you’ve been exposed to harmful chemicals.
Antibacterial soaps sound good. After all, no one wants to
imagine their hands teeming with bacteria.
We are utterly covered in microorganisms. That idea grosses us
out, and some of that bacteria can make us sick. Kill them all, we think.
But in reality, we couldn’t survive without beneficial bacteria,
some of which help protect our immune system. And antibacterial soaps are no
better at preventing disease than regular soap and water.
If you’ve ever purchased soap based on its deadliness to
bacteria, you’re a victim of false advertising. But it’s not as benign as that.
You’re also a victim of the harmful chemicals used to make those
soaps — triclosan and triclocarban.
In addition to the possibility of helping develop germs that are resistant to antibiotics, evidence
suggests that these two chemicals may also disrupt your hormone cycles. And it’s not just your skin.
Triclosan can also be found in some toothpastes.
These chemicals continue making trouble even after they’re
washed down the drain. They’re released into the environment via effluent from
wastewater treatment plants or sewage sludge.
While triclocarban stays intact in the environment for several
years, triclosan breaks down into cancer causing dioxins.
In light of their potential harm and lack of benefits, the FDA has finally banned them in consumer products. Although, hospitals and restaurants can still use them.
According to the regulation, corporations have a year to clean
up their acts. That means that you might still find these soon-to-be banned
chemicals in the store. So for the next year you should still read soap
labels to avoid triclocarban and triclosan.
And when you do, keep in mind that despite evidence of their
harmful effects, many companies chose not to do the right thing on their own
and continued to sell products that contain both chemicals.
That’s why a government regulation acting in the public interest
was necessary for us to wash our hands of these toxins.
OtherWords
columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our
Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It. Distributed by OtherWords.org.