Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 03/30/2011 6:15:39 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
For decades, Americans have safely used bacteria-killing products as we go about our daily routines. Anti-bacterial hand washes are routinely used in schools to prevent the spreading of germs. Hospitals use similar products to maintain sterile environments. Dentists have safely used anti-bacterial mouthwashes for years in the treatment of gum and other oral diseases.
The welfare of Americans and the many businesses that make these products – from large corporations to small “mom and pop” enterprises --does not seem to be important to environmental extremists. They have set their sights on Triclosan, the product that makes our soaps and anti-bacterial washes so effective. The extremists are pressuring the EPA to ban this product, which the FDA had found to be safe.
On April 8, the EPA will end open comments and begin to decide the fate of Triclosan, an antibacterial ingredient found in soap, tooth paste, trash bags, toys, and hundreds of other products. The chemical has been studied for over fifty years and was just two years ago deemed safe by the FDA. A Study by Fabrizio, Ward, & Associates found that 74% of Americans use Antibacterial products and over 83% prefer to have a choice on whether to continue using these products.
Even if you prefer not to use antibacterial soaps, Triclosan is used for many other purposes, some that are not currently under attack from these studies. It has been shown to be a much better fighter of gingivitis and gum disease than Fluoride alone. It is used to prevent the spread of Methicillian-resistant Staphylococcus Areus Infections, (MRSA), in nursing homes and neonatal units. We have used this chemical safely for over 70 years to fight life-threatening bacteria. What happens when suddenly it is removed from trash bags, toys, cosmetics? What will be the negative impact on our health when we reintroduce all of this additional bacteria? We don't know.
The EPA needs to slow down before outright banning any chemical or substance that is so prevalent in our daily lives. The impact on such a ban will not only have far reaching implications on many product industries, but also on consumers who make the choice to use them for protection.
Smart Girl Politics Action is asking our friends at Patriot Action Network to please sign the petition. Tell the EPA to not ban the antibacterial ingredient Triclosan
PING!
If we want to ban something we should start by banning the EPA.
The Employment Prevention Agency strikes again.
Blindsided...again.
Ping.
“Bloggers and Personal” is where all good threads go to die.
You got that right. However, we only use regular hand soap and prefer Ivory liquid. And it is REALLY tough to find. I guess this would make it easier to get. But screw ‘em anyways.
Every environmental group leader should be arrested and jailed for sedition.
“Blindsided...again.”
Not really - since it’s still available and we’re talking about its removal. In other words we can do something about it...if we care do.
I got BLINDSIDED on Phosphate removal from dishwasher detergent. I read about the nightmares that were going on for the past couple of years in Western Washington State, but didn’t realize that the government had cut a backroom deal to remove Phosphates from ALL consumer dishwasher detergent products (although not from commercial products), which makes getting clean dishes absolutely impossible.
For this case, once we identify the products, we can stock up on them, before they change. I still have stuff (like Freon) from 20 years ago that I bought just before it disappeared from the shelves. I will do the same for soap, toothpaste, and whatever else is required.
I like the regular handsoap, too. You never can tell when you’ll get superbugs from all the antibacterial products.
That too I suppose. It is too drying on the skin, especialy for one daughter. (But me too). Causes the skin to crack - and those cracks, while in themselves are no fun, also let the germs in!
The extremists are pressuring the EPA to ban this product, which the FDA had found to be safe.
So, just who are these 'radicals'? I know there exists a plethora of 'protect the inviermunt' groups, but what seems to be happening is just a routine period for any and all groups or individuals to have input before the EPA makes a decision.
No, I don't trust the EPA, and I wish they would just go away. But why are you sounding the alarms at this time? It seems to me there would be a lot of opposition from the health care industry to such a move. Someone from the radical 'viermunt movement must present some pretty substantial scientific evidence that Triclosan is harmful in order to ban a product that has been used safely for decades. Or am I being too sans souci?
There have been some recent threads that included discussion on buying trisodium phosphate (TSP) and using it to supplement non-phosphate dishwasher and laundry detergents, to much good effect. You have to be careful, since there is “TSP” these days that does not include trisodium phosphate.
For soap, we make our own lye soap from all the fat/grease that comes from cooking. And we blend tri-sodium phosphate with it to make it more effective in the laundry. Works great, and no chemicals that are harmful.
We use hydrogen peroxide for germicidal sanitation...we have 50% H2O2 that we dilute for various applications, including fresh vegatable soaks.
‘TSP’ is mislabelling allowed by the de factos to mislead us.
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