SF2192: Limit the use of lead and mercury; ban triclosan from soaps and cleaning products

Mercury and lead continue to be found in certain products including mercury thermometers and automotive wheel weights. This bill requires manufacturers of thermostats that contain mercury to collect and dispose of them to ensure they do not enter the solid waste stream, and limits the sale of other products, including wheel weights that contain lead.

The bill was supported by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency because alternative lead-free wheel weights are now available.

The House version of the bill added a ban on triclosan in consumer products. Triclosan contained in soaps and cleaning products ends up in our lakes and rivers.  There is evidence that this chemical is a hormone disrupter, and infectious disease experts are concerned that broad use also increases bacterial resistance making antibiotics less effective.  The Minnesota Department of Health has recommended that triclosan not be used, and the U.S. FDA has found that there is no evidence that triclosan provides any benefits to consumers.

Triclosan in surface waters exposed to sunlight also creates dangerous compounds called “dioxins” which are cancer-causing toxins and have increased by over 200% in the Mississippi River since the 1960s.

A conference committee of both Senators and House members met to resolve differences in the House and Senate bills and recommended that the bill include the ban on triclosan as well as the limits on mercury and lead products.