BATHING DOLPHINS: Dolphins are swimming in soapy seas, and it may be disrupting their development.
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Dolphins are swimming in waters tainted with germ-killing soaps, but they aren't winding up squeaky clean.
Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in everyday bathroom and kitchen products, is accumulating in dolphins at concentrations known to disrupt the growth and development of other animals. Scientists have found that one-third of the bottlenose dolphins tested off South Carolina and almost one-quarter of those tested off Florida carried traces of triclosan in their blood. It is the first time the chemical has been reported in a wild marine mammal – a worrisome finding, researchers say, because it shows it is building up in the ocean’s food web.
Triclosan is the germ-killing chemical of choice in hundreds of products, including liquid hand soaps, toothpaste, deodorants and cutting boards. Now some scientists are calling for its removal from consumer products.
“The fact that this chemical is found in the environment and is being detected in a top level predator certainly warrants concern,” said Patricia Fair, a research physiologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and lead author of the dolphin study, which was published online in the journal Environmental Pollution in May.
Scientists cannot say what effect triclosan might have on dolphins, but lab studies conducted on other animals suggest that it could be jeopardizing their health. Studies in bullfrogs found that triclosan disrupts the endocrine system — blocking the tadpoles’ development into frogs at concentrations found in the environment. Another study found triclosan alters thyroid hormones in rats, which is another sign of endocrine system disruption.
Many scientists weren’t surprised to see triclosan turn up in dolphins, due to the chemical’s widespread use. In the United States, 76 percent of liquid soaps and 26 percent of bar soaps contain triclosan, according to a 2001 study in the American Journal of Infection Control. In Europe, approximately 350 tons are used in commercial products.
“With the sheer amount being used, it’s actually starting to accumulate [in more top predators],” said Caren Helbing, a molecular biologist at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada, who was not involved with the dolphin study.
After spitting your toothpaste down the sink or washing your liquid soap down the drain, it ends up in a sewage treatment plant, where 90 to 98 percent of the chemical is broken down, before the wastewater is discharged into freshwater or directly into oceans along the coasts. Triclosan was one of the most frequently detected chemicals in a survey of streams in 30 states conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Triclosan builds up in fatty tissues, so it passes up the food chain from animal to animal, including humans.
Three-quarters of people tested in the United States have triclosan in their urine, according to a 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also has been found in breast milk of Swedish women. The concentrations reported in humans are similar to those found in dolphins.
Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration regulate triclosan in consumer products.
Last October, after reviewing the existing science, the EPA decided to approve the chemical for continued use. The EPA said triclosan “may bioaccumulate, potentially posing a concern for aquatic organisms.” But it concluded that the levels coming from households are too low to be toxic to fish or other aquatic creatures.
Nevertheless, the agency added new requirements. Triclosan manufacturers must submit toxicology reports and an environmental monitoring plan. Also, the EPA decided that it will review the chemical again in four years because of “the rapidly developing scientific database for triclosan,” according to an agency document.
“Currently, the Agency intends to begin that process in 2013, ten years earlier than originally planned,” the document says.
In the meantime, Swiss-based chemical company Ciba, the major manufacturer of triclosan, announced in March that within a year it will stop using it for clothing, textiles, plastic and other uses registered with the EPA. The company says its decision was based on market decisions, not concerns over its safety.
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12 Comments
Add CommentDoes it matter anymore? People don't stop doing destructive things until they see other people dying instead. ...and even then, many prioritize money over life anyway. Most people care little about life beyond the lives of humans, even if the lives of humans depend on the lives of other species continuing to function.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf there's a difference anymore between being pessimistic and being realistic, I don't know what it is. Life's pretty well boned.
I avoid the stuff whenever possible. It gives me rashes. If I was my hand with soap made with it my skin will blister. I have to wash new clothes that were never worn. Can't be good for anybody.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with hotblack above. Plain old fashioned soap and running water will remove 90% of the transient bacteria from your hands. There is no need for antibacterial soaps except to make money.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhere the proven safety and efficacy of triclosan is most clearly valued by our customers and supported by customer demand,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBullshit ? As if (final) customers were aware of this. If they knew of the frog study I doubt they'd be that enthusiast about having a potentially very hazardous component in their soaps and food.
Not to mention that many of them may care a little more about the other species than hotblack does.
I am suprised that everyone or every manufacturer involed in this stupid has word to hide their fenal purpose.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey always want money not caring about your life of safety.
To be honesy, our naked eyeball will never tell that what and what is in the hazardous food before you take in it and then, you died.
Should who be responsible for the incident that is happening all around us?
ourselves.
Thank you for spreading the truth about triclosan. Food & Water Watch is working to ban the use of triclosan in personal care products.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf any readers in the DC area are interested in trading in triclosan containing products, Food & Water Watch will safely dispose of them! Just come to the P St. Whole Foods Market on Saturday September 12, 2009 from 10am-2pm!
To learn more: http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5915/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1866
We need to be more aware of what is added to the products we consume. Many food companies use dyes and lakes made from petroleum and insects. Many foods and drinks that are red is causing allergic reaction in people. The food labels do not mention that the dye comes from a beetle from South America. The F.D.A. says it is safe but I really do not think ingesting petroleum based products on a daily basis is good for me.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe need to be more aware of what is added to the products we consume. Many food companies use dyes and lakes made from petroleum and insects. Many foods and drinks that are red is causing allergic reaction in people. The food labels do not mention that the dye comes from a beetle from South America. The F.D.A. says it is safe but I really do not think ingesting petroleum based products on a daily basis is good for me.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe need to be more aware of what is added to the products we consume. Many food companies use dyes and lakes made from petroleum and insects. Many foods and drinks that are red is causing allergic reaction in people. The food labels do not mention that the dye comes from a beetle from South America. The F.D.A. says it is safe but I really do not think ingesting petroleum based products on a daily basis is good for me.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSeems lots of hot air here. Triclosan or any compound that is used in consumer products flourished because it is in demand. It is found to be beneficial to the users, otherwise nobody would pay for them. So to say it harms the environ and call for its ban is plain ignorant. Why not ban the fertilizers, pesticides and so forth? One must be aware of the pros and cons before making a stand. So suddenly the triclosan readings in dolphins raises the alarm, but similar levels in human are not worth the salt. Are you human or what?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisto sunny Shade-human or not? humane or not is the better question.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisassuming that triclosan is a good anti-bacterial, why does it need to be in almost every product from hand soap to underwear? humans have lived, successfully, in less than sterile conditions for tens of thousands of years, and if it were not for marketing, most of use wouldn't know or care that we needed "extra protection".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe argument that people buy it, therefore it must be good, is a non-starter. people bought thalidomide... and how many consumers have ever seen a "germ", other than the animated, anthropomorphic kind in the commercials? marketing's primary purpose is to create demand for products that we didn't even know we needed.
triclosan brings up, once again, the flaws in our funding model of science and basic research. if all funding is left to industry, who will fund a basic study on the negative health effects? surely not the same companies that are making money hand-over-fist from the product.
and unless there is a competitor with an axe to grind, or a class-action lawsuit against the product, who will fund a study that will never lead to commercialization or make money for someone?