Minnesota Becomes First State to Ban Triclosan, Controversial Ingredient in Antibacterial Soaps

Tucked into an environment bill signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday was a measure banning triclosan, a controversial antibacterial agent found in a wide array of consumer products.

May 20, 2014 | Source: City Pages | by Aaron Rupar

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Tucked into an environment bill signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday was a measure banning triclosan, a controversial antibacterial agent found in a wide array of consumer products.

Minnesota is the first state to ban triclosan, which is currently being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

The ban, which was approved by the Legislature with broad bipartisan support, has drawn the ire of the D.C.-based American Cleaning Institute.

ACI spokesman Brian Sansoni argues research on triclosan hasn’t shown that the agent has any negative health impact on humans.

“For members of the public who want to choose these products, they should certainly be able to have access to them,” Sansoni tells us. “This particular chemical has been in use for over 40 years, primarily in health care and then in the consumer space, and it has been safely used. We use it to wash our hands and in other applications too, and it continues to be safely used, and it’s been more researched than just about any other ingredient that’s used in consumer products.”

Asked about the benefits of triclosan, Sansoni says, “Very simply put, antibacterial soaps have a germ-killing benefit as compared to non-antibacterial soaps.”

But proponents of the ban argue the hygienic benefits of triclosan are overstated, and that the agent has negative environmental impacts, if not negative health impacts for humans.