(Beyond Pesticides, May 20, 2010) Dioxins derived from the
antibacterial agent triclosan account for an increasing
proportion of total dioxins found in water: researchers at the
University of Minnesota found that though levels of all other
dioxins have dropped by 73-90% over the last thirty years, the
levels of four different dioxins derived from triclosan have
risen by 200-300%. The study, which was a collaborative effort
between researchers at the University of Minnesota, Pace
Analytical (Minneapolis), the Science Museum of Minnesota and
Virginia Tech appears in the journal Environmental Science and
Technology. Leading the research is the recent Ph.D. graduate in
chemistry, Jeff Buth and supervisors William Arnold, a civil
engineering professor, and his colleague Krostopher McNeill, all
from University of Minnesota. Researchers looked at sediment
core samples that contained pollution accumulation records from
the past 50 years from Lake Pepin, a part of the Mississippi
River 120 miles downstream from the Mi