Study: Chemical Commonly Found In Household Items May Have Potentially Dangerous Health Consequences

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – According to a new report, a chemical commonly found in household items such as soap, shampoo and even toothpaste may have potentially dangerous consequences to your health.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found Triclosan caused liver fibrosis and cancer in lab mice and it could possibly have the same effects on humans.

The study, led by Robert H. Tukey, PhD, Bruce D. Hammock, PhD, and their teams, found that triclosan distorted liver integrity and disrupted liver function in the tested mice.

The chemical is found in 75 percent of antibacterial soap products. The research, mostly in animals, shows that it can interfere with hormone levels, potentially increasing the risk of infertility or cancer.

Researchers say mice exposed to triclosan for six months, which equates to about 18 human years, were more vulnerable to chemical-induced liver tumors.

"Triclosan's increasing detection in environmental samples and its increasingly broad use in consumer products may overcome its moderate benefit and present a very real risk of liver toxicity for people, as it does in mice, particularly when combined with other compounds with similar action," said Tukey.

The study suggests the chemical may interfere with a protein that is responsible for detoxifying foreign chemicals in the body. To compensate, the liver cells increase and eventually turn fibrotic. Repeated exposure and continued liver fibrosis eventually causes the formation of tumors.

"We could reduce most human and environmental exposures by eliminating uses of triclosan that are high volume, but of low benefit, such as inclusion in liquid hand soaps," Hammock said.

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