高露洁全效牙膏中的三氯生可能致癌

A chemical that has been linked to cancer cell growth is being used by millions of Americans in toothpaste every day, it has emerged.

在成千上万的美国人每天使用的牙膏中，可能存在一种导致癌细胞增长的化学物质。

The company behind Colgate Total insists that triclosan, which it uses to stave off gum disease, is safe to use because the toothpaste was approved in 1997 by the Food and Drug Administration.

高露洁全效牙膏所属公司坚称其牙膏中含有的用来预防牙周病的名为三氯生的化学物质是安全的，因为该物质曾在1997年获得美国食品药品管理局（FDA）的批准可以用于牙膏。

But the toxicology documents used by the FDA to approve the toothpaste were only released early this year after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit last year - and reveal the agency relied upon company-backed science to reach its conclusion, Bloomberg News reported.

但是彭博资讯社的报道称，FDA当时审核所依据的毒理学文件是去年一起信息自由法案的诉讼之后、在今年上半年才发布的，另外，FDA当时使用的医学论据来自于生产商有关的科研实验。

The 35-page report reveals the FDA had concerns that triclosan could increase the risk of cancer - but Colgate said the chemical was only problematic in large doses.

长达35页的报告显示FDA曾对三氯生可能存在的致癌性的担忧，但是高露洁公司则称三氯生只有在大剂量使用时才会出问题。

But evidence available at the time, as well as newer studies, show there are indeed concerns with the chemical - including premature births and underdeveloped bones in animals.

然而目前已有的证据以及最新的研究都表明该化学物质确实令人担忧，包括已在动物研究中发现的的早产和骨质发育不全现象。

'The recently released pages, taken alongside new research on triclosan, raise questions about whether the agency did appropriate due diligence in approving Total 17 years ago,' scientists told Bloomberg.

科学家告诉彭博资讯社，“最近发表的文章，以及有关三氯生的最新研究，都对17年前FDA批准高露洁全效牙膏是否尽职尽责提出了质疑。”

In 2010, a student linked triclosan, which has commonly been used to reduce bacteria contamination, to reduced fertility in mice and a 2013 study linked it to lowered sperm production in rats.

2010年，一名学生发现了常被用来减少细菌污染的三氯生可能与实验小鼠生育率的下降有关，2013年的一项研究又发现三氯生可能会降低实验小鼠的精子数。

And a study from 2003 found triclosan in the urine of 75 per cent of 2,517 Americans - including children - who were tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2003年，一项由疾病控制与预防中心负责的检测，共有包括儿童在内的2517名美国人参与，在其中75%的参与者尿液里发现了三氯生。

Despite evidence - including pages in the report showing how tests found fetal bone malformations in mice and rats - Colgate deemed the results irrelevant because they were conducted on animals.

尽管已有的证据都表明了现有研究是如何在实验小鼠身上发现胎儿骨骼畸形等一些问题的，可高露洁公司依然以这些研究的对象是动物为由，认为这些结果没有相关性。

'We have created a system where we are testing these chemicals out on the human population,' scientist Thomas Zoeller told Bloomberg. 'I love the idea they are all safe. But when we have studies on animals that suggest otherwise, I think we're taking a huge risk.'

“我们已经创建了一个系统用来检测这些化学物质对人体的影响，”科学家托马斯·卓勒告诉彭博资讯社，“我当然非常希望它们都是安全的。但是我们在动物身上的研究得到了不安全的结果，所以我想我们是在冒很大的风险做这件事情。”

Still, Colgate said that the 35 pages do not prove the chemical is harmful to humans and said that its safety is proved by more than 80 clinical studies of 19,000 people.

与此同时，高露洁公司依然表示35页的报告无法证明三氯生对人体的危害，相反，这种化学物质的安全性已在总计样本量达1万9千人的80项临床研究中得到了证实。

'In the nearly 18 years that Colgate Total has been on the market in the U.S., there has been no signal of a safety issue from adverse-event reports,' spokesman Thomas DiPiazza told Bloomberg.

“在高露洁全效牙膏出现在美国市场上的这近18年的时间里，还没发生过任何与安全性有关的不良事件。”公司发言人托马斯·迪皮亚扎说。

He added that, while the FDA had been worried about the chemical's carcinogenicity, a study in 1997 found it did not pose a cancer risk for humans.

他还补充道，虽然FDA曾经担心过三氯生的致癌性，但1997年的一项研究发现它不会带给人们癌症风险。

Colgate said it has no plans to reformulate Total toothpaste.

高露洁公司还表示他们没有计划对高露洁全效牙膏做出改变。

The FDA said on its website that triclosan is 'not known' to be dangerous to humans - but the results found in animals has given them enough of a reason to run tests again.

FDA在其网站上称三氯生对人类的危险性仍然“未知”，但是在动物身上得到的研究结果让他们有充分理由进行再次检测。

Drug regulators are now reviewing the dangers of the chemical, but they will only re-visit the approval of Total if they find a great enough reason to.

药品管理机构目前正在重新审查该化学物质的危险性，但是如果他们发现了充分的理由他们也只会重新核查高露洁全效牙膏的批准文件。

In a sign of the concern over the chemical, Minnesota lawmakers banned the chemical in May. Avon and Johnson & Johnson have also announced plans to cut the chemical from its products.

由于对该化学物质的担忧，明尼苏达州已经制定法律从五月份起将其禁用。雅芳及强生公司也宣布在其产品中去除该化学物质。

In 2010, the European Union banned triclosan in materials that come into contact with food.

2010年的时候，欧盟已经规定在生产与食品接触的材料中禁用三氯生。