Personal care ingredients behind waterways pollution: Study

The Arizona State University scientists and federal authorities have found the polluting levels of active ingredients triclocarban and triclosan used in personal care products formulations in the Minnesota waterways.

The researchers said the active ingredients in these products can be traced from the home to sewers, then on the waste water treatment plants, and ultimately downstream bodies of water, reported cosmeticsdesign.com

The study examined river, creek and lake bed sediment samples from 12 locations, both upstream and downstream, from waste water treatment plants for the presence of antimicrobial compounds.

It was revealed that the overall concentrations of triclocarban were 3 to 58 times higher than those of the more frequently monitored triclosan.

According to the study, these two active ingredients are frequently found in both personal care and pharmaceutical products and are believed to be slow to degrade in the environment.

Biodesign Institute Environmental Security director Halden said the study shows how freshwater environments in the US are polluted due to the additives of antimicrobial consumer products.

"Regulatory agencies are aware of the overuse of antimicrobials but no state or federal restrictions have been implemented yet for either triclosan or triclocarban," said Halden.

The author of the study Arjun Venkatesan told the website that the study has found both upstream and downstream of the waste water plants to be having detectable levels of the antibacterial ingredients, with downstream having more of them.