CHEMICAL IN ANTI-BACTERIAL SOAP MAY CONVERT TO DIOXIN

Sunlight can convert triclosan, a common disinfectant used in anti-bacterial soaps, into a form of dioxin, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.

Investigators Kristopher McNeill and William Arnold, added triclosan to Mississippi river water, shined ultraviolet light on the water. Between 1% and 12% of the triclosan was converted to dioxin.

“This form of dioxin is at least 150,000 times less toxic than the most dangerous form,” comments McNeill. “But repeated exposure to chlorine, perhaps in water treatment facilities, could chlorinate triclosan. After chlorinated triclosan is discharged from the facility, sunlight could convert it into more toxic dioxins. Such a process could be a source of highly toxic dioxin in the environment.”

The researchers add that even low levels of very toxic dioxin are worrisome because dioxin readily accumulates in organisms and becomes more concentrated in tissues as it moves up the food chain.

Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry – April 8, 2003 (online). http://www.sciencedirect.com/