Anti-Bacterial Additive Found in Maryland Streams

[Trillo]

A toxic chemical used in hand soaps, cleaners and other personal care products to kill germs is deposited and remains in the environment long after the products are used, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The chemical—3,4,4'-trichlorocarbanilide (triclocarban), marketed under the trademark TCC™—is a non-agricultural polychlorinated phenyl urea pesticide that has been widely used for decades to kill bacteria. The researchers were among the first to detect concentrations of triclocarban in rivers and influent of wastewater treatment facilities. In some instances, they detected concentrations of triclocarban in waterways at levels 20-fold higher than previously reported. The study furnishes the first peer-reviewed environmental data of triclocarban contamination in U.S. water resources. It is published in the online edition of Environmental Science & Technology.
more...
http://www.jhsph.edu/Press_Room/Press_Releases/PR_2004/Halden_triclocarban.html

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Personally, I can't help but wonder if this is the reason for the emergence of superbugs resistent to antibiotics, rather than the media outcry of over-prescription of antibiotics by physicians for patients. I looked into this antibacterial agent several years ago, and saw it classified as one of the most powerful antibacterials available.

After washing your hands with it, where does it go? Into the sewer, or septic tank. <sacasm> There sure aren't any microorganisms or bacteria there! <sarcasm off>

[hatrack]

1. "We will fight resistant bugs by paying extra to breed more of them!"

"Our miraculous germ-killing soap will keep us safe!"

And people wonder why I get bent out of shape when state school boards talk about "de-emphasizing" evolution in science curricula. :mad:

[soothsayer]

2. over prescription of antibiotics to people---bah! more likely the

antibiotics we feed to cows, chickens, etc. plus, yeah, this stuff too.

[kestrel91316]

3. They are going to kill us all with this foolishness....................

As I have said many times (and I should know........I have a degree in microbiology), "Bacteria are our friends!" We kill them at our own risk. The VAST majority of microbes on earth are not only harmless, but in most cases an essential component of ecosystems. Our own lives depend upon the proper growth and metabolic processes of the bacteria housed inside our own bodies. Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they can be ignored. Indiscriminate use of microbicides is foolhardy in the extreme.

SOAP AND HOT WATER ARE ALL YOU NEED TO WASH YOUR HANDS, PEOPLE!
Throw away the "disinfectant" soaps. All plain soaps disinfect just fine, unless you are running a hospital.

[treepig]

4. yeah, bacteria are good

most people have ~ 500 different species living in their digestive tract.

they can do good things like provide vitamin b12 and prevent cancer.

[LibLabUK]

5. Cool!

"I have a degree in microbiology"

Excellent, a fellow microbiology graduate. It seems most of the biologists coming through these days are biochemists and molecular biologists..

[kestrel91316]

8. (got a DVM, too)

[alarimer]

6. there seems to be an obsession with cleanliness

(not a problem I have LOL) that results in all of these "antibacterial" products that do more harm in the long run. I read somewhere (can't remember where) that this obsession actually makes us sicker. The idea was that if our immune systems were challenged a little but they would be stronger. I don't know if this is true or not. It doesn't justify living in absolute filth but I do think plain old soap and water is fine.

[treepig]

7. shhhhhhhhhhh, you don't want to say that here

you know, that stuff about if your immune system is challenged a little, you'll be healthier. apparently, that's just flat out wrong.

[kestrel91316]

9. Ahem, I beg to differ...................

and you might want to look into the study that showed the rapid remission of Crohn's Disease symptoms in patients treated by infecting them with a roundworm. Worms are our friends, too.