Executive Summary

Antibacterial agents, such as triclosan, are common ingredients in many everyday household and personal care products. There is a growing concern about the emergence of these chemicals in the environment. The SCBWMI Emerging Contaminants Workgroup reviewed the state of knowledge regarding triclosan, the most common of these antibacterial agents. The Workgroup recommends the adoption of strategies to minimize the occurrence of antibacterial agents and their breakdown products in surface water. Proposed next steps, messages and audiences are presented in Section 5. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the SCBWMI Emerging Contaminants Workgroup draws the following conclusions: • The American Medical Association has not endorsed the necessity or efficacy of triclosan and other antibacterial agents in personal care products (Section 1) • Antibacterial agents and their degradation products are found in many tested U.S. surface waters, including San Francisco Bay (Section 2) • One such agent, triclosan is acutely and chronically toxic to aquatic organisms (Section 3) • Triclosan bioaccumulates in fish and human tissue (Section 3) • Triclosan may degrade into other toxic compounds (Section 3) • Triclosan may encourage antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. (Section 3). • Physicians indicate that the best germ fighting measure continues to be the actual act of hand washing with regular soap, or for extra assurance, alcohol or peroxide-based hand sanitizer