Antibacterial Products Pollute Freshwater Lakes
So-called “antibacterial” products are everywhere today - in stores, homes and classrooms around the world - to reduce the spread of colds and other infections. But a new study conducted in the United States has found that a chemical that gives soaps and hand creams their anti-germ properties is polluting freshwater lakes.
The anti-bacterial agent triclosan was approved for use in the U.S. in 1964 and was added to consumer products in the 1970s. Today, the disinfectant is in everything from soaps to laundry detergent, according to William Arnold, a civil engineering professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
“We are using a chemical to wash our hands, brush our teeth and the like that isn’t actually necessary for the function of these products, that’s now accumulating in the environment and having potential effects out there," said Arnold.
Researchers pulled core samples from the bottom of eight Minnesota lakes, looking for evidence of triclosan in the sediment that had built up on the lakebeds.
“And so what we found is the concentration of triclosan was zero before 1964, and that it had increased over time, largely during the 1980s, when antibacterial hand soap came to the market," he said.
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