Hospital workers who use antibacterial soap containing triclosan, a synthetic antibacterial agent, on the job are exposed to potentially unsafe levels of the chemical, which is currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a study led by UCSF researchers.
The FDA is reviewing triclosan — which is found in many products like soaps, toothpaste and acne creams — for safety based on research that it can cause developmental problems in fetuses and newborns, among other issues, according to UCSF.
For the study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, researchers took urine samples from two groups of 38 workers from two hospitals. One hospital used soap with 0.3 percent triclosan in all patient care areas while the other hospital did not use triclosan-containing soap. Researchers also issued a questionnaire to determine if the workers used triclosan-containing products in the home.
Researchers found that workers in the first hospital had significantly higher levels of the chemical in their urine than workers at the hospital that did not use triclosan. They also found that washing with antibacterial soap led to higher triclosan levels than brushing teeth with triclosan-containing toothpastes does.
"If non-triclosan-containing soaps are available, use the alternative," Paul Blanc, MD, a professor of medicine at UCSF who co-led the study, recommended. "This is based on the precautionary principle — that is, if you don't know for certain that something is unsafe, it's better to err on the side of caution."
Using soaps with triclosan has been listed as a "worst practice" for hand hygiene in the healthcare setting.