DO NOT BUY THESE PRODUCTS!!!!

The following is an edited for conciseness version of a 5/8/99 email that was posted to the Nature Sunshine Products forum concerning the antibacterial chemicals in soaps, especially dish soaps. These chemicals all leave residues. And because of this residue, people with animals or fish aquariums are told not to use them even if they rinse the cages thoroughly. The main agent in these types of soaps is a derivative of the chemical known as Agent Orange.

Those yellow sponges with the green plastic fibers on the back for scrubbing pots - "Pot Scrubbers" - should be kept far away from our birds, fish, reptiles cats and dogs, hamsters and whatever. Proctor & Gamble, in its continuing search to make America look clean and smell great, has a new "improved" version of the sponge on the market that kills the odor causing fungi that get in the sponge after a few uses. They make a big deal out of this innovation on the outside packaging.

A friend of mine used one of these sponges to clean the glass on a 200-gallon aquarium. The abrasive backs are good for removing algae and grim that collect on the inside of the tank. He refilled the tank and after the water had time to condition and rid itself of chlorine, he reintroduced his tropical fish collection of some 30 fish. Within five hours of putting the fish back in the tank, they were all dead! Some began to die after only 30 minutes. He removed the survivors to another tank but they all died. Retracing his steps to clean the tank, the only thing that was different was using that new kind of sponge. He'd used the regular old Pot Scrubbers for years.

Lo and behold I discovered on the back of the packaging in about the finest print you could put on plastic a description of the fungicide (Triclosan) in the sponge and the warning in tiny bold-face letters, "Not for use in aquariums. Keep away from other pets." Thanks for the warning Proctor & Gamble. It seems the fungicide is a derivative of the systemic pesticide-herbicide, 2-4-D, more popularly known as Agent Orange, the chemical we sprayed all over Southeast Asian during the Vietnam War that many veterans and war refugees say did permanent damage to their lungs and nervous systems.

The package warning goes on to say the fungicide cannot be washed from the sponge even if it is placed in the dishwasher (in which case, Agent Orange is now all over your dishes and drinking glasses). And, if you think it's there to kill disease-causing bacteria like Salmonella from contaminated chicken meat, think again! Triclosan is not an effective enough bactericide to kill those kind of bugs. By the way, Triclosan is used now in many of those popular anti-bacterial, anti-viral disinfectant liquid soaps (such as Ultra-dawn Antibacterial dishwashing soap) and hand cleaners that are flooding the market.

Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial/anti-microbial agent. It is manufactured in the U.S. by Ciba-Geigy, under their trade name Irgasan DP300, and by several other manufacturers outside of the U.S. As a result of its bacteriostatic activity against a wide range of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria it has found increasing and recent popular use in personal care products, i.e.- toothpaste, deodorant soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants and body washes, detergents, dish washing liquids, cosmetics and anti-microbial creams, lotions and hand soaps.....

For the full story click here:
www.herbcottage.com/newslett...soaps.htm

It's in Colgate toothpaste!!! - click below...
www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/...on_sense.htm