[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

	Cancer and TriclosanThere have been reports of acute health effects such as skin irritation resulting from triclosan exposure. But the more worrisome health effects of triclosan are more subtle. Researchers have raised concerns about triclosan and its link to dioxins, which are highly carcinogenic chemicals that can cause severe health problems such as: weakening of the immune system, decreased fertility, altered sex hormones, birth defects, and cancer. Girl Scouts Say No To Triclosan A group of curious Girl Scouts in St. Paul, Minnesota found that when they tried to use triclosan to kill bacteria they were growing for a science fair project, the bacteria actually started growing. After a two-year investigation, the girls found that while anti-bacterial soap kills 99.6% of germs, regular soap kills 99.4% of germs. The Girl Scouts concluded that household anti-bacterial products are unnecessary, and that by not quite killing all the bacteria, they could actually create super-germs that will pose a threat to public health. Based on their findings, these young girls have met with local lawmakers who have submitted a bill on the girls' behalf that would ban the use of triclosan. Even relatively small quantities of dioxins can have devastating effects. According to EPA, triclosan "could be" and is "suspected to be" contaminated with dioxins. Dioxins can be found in triclosan as impurities formed during the manufacturing process. Researchers who added triclosan to river water and exposed it to ultraviolet light found that a significant portion of the triclosan was converted to dioxins, raising fears that sunlight could transform triclosan to dioxins naturally. Another serious health threat stems from interactions between triclosan and tap water. A new study by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute finds that triclosan reacts with chlorine molecules in tap water to form chlorinated dioxins, which are highly toxic forms of dioxin. Because the study was conducted using triclosan-containing dishwashing soap, researchers believe that these chlorinated dioxins are forming in kitchen sinks across the country. The same study also found that the combination of tap water and triclosan produces significant quantities of chloroform, which is a probable human carcinogen. Production of chloroform and dioxins may also be a problem in pools, where there are high levels of chlorine that can react to triclosan residues on people's skin.