[加拿大新聞] Feds seek voluntary removal of toxin from personal-care products 2012, government, household, voluntary

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http://www.canada.com/health/Feds+seek+voluntary+removal+toxin+from+personal+care+products/6387354/story.html

By Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia News

March 30, 2012 4:09 PM

The federal government is seeking a voluntary ban on a bacteria-fighting chemical additive commonly used in a wide range of household products — including toothpaste.

OTTAWA — The federal government said Friday it will press companies to remove voluntarily a bacteria killer from toothpaste and other personal-care products after concluding triclosan is toxic to the environment.

And pending the results of "voluntary action," to include looking for a substitute ingredient, the government's newly published draft risk assessment says "risk management measures" may be proposed.

Consumer advocates, also concerned about potential health risks, welcomed Friday's development but said a ban should be the end game if toiletry manufacturers don't move on their own to remove triclosan from toothpastes, mouthwashes, body washes and anti-bacterial soaps.

Health Canada has been probing the effects of triclosan on the body's endocrine system and whether the antibacterial agent contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance. Environment Canada has been studying the effect of the widely used chemical on the environment.

The government's draft risk assessment, published Friday, says the current levels of triclosan in products such as toothpaste, shampoo and soap do not pose a risk to human health and Canadians can continue to safely use these products.

Triclosan, however, is harmful to the environment, the draft assessment says. When personal-care items are rinsed and washed down the drain, the amount of triclosan released into the environment through wastewater treatment plants can affect plants and animals in lakes, streams and rivers, it says.

Adverse effects includes reduction in growth, reproduction and survival. Triclosan may also interfere with the action of thyroid hormones in amphibians.

The formal proposal to list the chemical as toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act is now subject to consultations before the government publishes a final risk assessment and risk-management strategy, expected in the fall of 2013.

"We're looking primarily at this point developing voluntary controls with industry, but the alternatives are varied and those will be discussed as we move forward on the assessment and risk management," Robert Chenier, the director of the ecological assessment division at Environment Canada, said in an interview.

"If we want to reduce the risk in the environment, then we'll have to look at the utilization," added Dr. Paul Gully, a senior medical adviser at Health Canada.

Katie van der Sloot and Rachel Brown, Grade 12 students from Medicine Hat, Alberta, can attest to the presence — and power — of triclosan in their local water systems.

After noticing a flood of antibacterial soap in their community following the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, the students launched an ambitious science project that found triclosan-resistant bacteria in their water. The young scientists, who last year won a bronze metal at the national science fair and were awarded the Science for Peace and Development Award by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO for their project, are now trying to get triclosan out of personal-care products.

"We're so excited that the government is recognizing this finally. Triclosan is in so many products, but most of the products that it is in actually end up down the drain and into the water systems, so I think a really big step would be if the government was able to somehow get it out of these soaps and these hand sanitizers and these body washes that end up down the drain and affecting our aquatic environment," van der Sloot said Friday.

Brown, citing studies showing regular washing with soap can be as effective as antibacterial soap, added: "It raises the question about why triclosan was introduced into these products in the first place."

The Canadian Medical Association has been calling for a ban on the household use of triclosan since 2009, when the organization raised serious concerns about the potential for increased bacterial resistance and argued the benefits are minimal compared to regular washing with soap.

Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence and co-author of the book Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects our Health, called Friday's announcement "an important step forward."

The government "has acknowledged it needs to do some more work to really scope out the size of the problem, but declaring triclosan toxic is an important step forward," said Smith.

"We agree with the Canadian Medical Association in supporting a ban on the household use of this chemical. This chemical is clearly leading to environmental harm. Doctors tell us that this chemical is harming human health and this chemical doesn't even work as advertised. In other words, this chemical is all downside and no upside. It's modern day snake oil, so we need less of this chemical in our lives, and the only way to achieve that is by the federal government cracking down on its use."

The Canadian government reviewed the safety of triclosan under the government's Chemicals Management Plan (CMP), created in 2006 to conduct safety assessments of hundreds of chemicals.