Minnesota agencies will stop buying soaps with triclosan

Minnesota state agencies will stop buying hand soaps, dish soaps and laundry cleaning products that contain triclosan to reduce the buildup of the antibacterial chemical in the environment.

By: John Myers, Duluth News Tribune

Minnesota state agencies will stop buying hand soaps, dish soaps and laundry cleaning products that contain triclosan to reduce the buildup of the antibacterial chemical in the environment.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has announced that the state will stop buying the products as current contracts expire and their use will be phased out by June.

The decision was based on a 2011 executive order by Gov. Mark Dayton demanding that state agencies use the most sustainable efforts in all of their activities to reduce state government’s impact on the environment.

Triclosan is the most common ingredient in so-called antibacterial soaps and other cleaning products. Health and environmental experts say the chemical not only isn’t needed for good hygiene but also causes damage in the environment as an endocrine disrupter.

A University of Minnesota study published in January in the journal Environmental Science and Technology said increasing amounts of triclosan were found in the sediment in eight Minnesota lakes and rivers, including Lake Superior, the Duluth harbor, Shagawa Lake in Ely, Lake Pepin, Lake St. Croix, Lake Winona and East Lake Gemini, all of which receive treated sewage effluent.

Triclosan was not found in Little Wilson Lake in the Superior National Forest, the control lake in the experiment, which sees no sewage outflow.

In some cases, high levels of triclosan have been found to reduce sperm in male fish and cause them to develop female physical characteristics. Studies published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have found triclosan can hinder cell growth in mammals and slow swimming in fathead minnows.

When triclosan passes through sewage treatment plants, it can combine with chlorine and morph into dioxins when exposed to sunlight in the receiving lake or river.

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