高露潔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.
在成千上萬的美國人每天使用的牙膏中，可能存在一種導致癌細胞增長的化學物質。

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.
高露潔全效牙膏所屬公司堅稱其牙膏中含有的用來預防牙周病的名爲三氯生的化學物質是安全的，因爲該物質曾在1997年獲得美國食品藥品管理局（FDA）的批准可以用於牙膏。

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.
但是彭博新聞社的報道稱，FDA當時審覈所依據的毒理學文件是去年一起信息自由法案的訴訟之後、在今年上半年才發佈的，另外，FDA當時使用的醫學論據來自於生產商有關的科研實驗。

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.
長達35頁的報告顯示FDA曾對三氯生可能存在的致癌性的擔憂，但是高露潔公司則稱三氯生只有在大劑量使用時纔會出問題。

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.
然而目前已有的證據以及最新的研究都表明該化學物質確實令人擔憂，包括已在動物研究中發現的的早產和骨質發育不全現象。

'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.
科學家告訴彭博新聞社，“最近發表的文章，以及有關三氯生的最新研究，都對17年前FDA批准高露潔全效牙膏是否盡職盡責提出了質疑。”

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，一名學生髮現了常被用來減少細菌污染的三氯生可能與實驗小鼠生育率的下降有關，2013年的一項研究又發現三氯生可能會降低實驗小鼠的精子數。

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，一項由疾病控制與預防中心負責的檢測，共有包括兒童在內的2517名美國人蔘與，在其中75%的參與者尿液裏發現了三氯生。

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.
儘管已有的證據都表明了現有研究是如何在實驗小鼠身上發現胎兒骨骼畸形等一些問題的，可高露潔公司依然以這些研究的對象是動物爲由，認爲這些結果沒有相關性。

'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.'
“我們已經創建了一個系統用來檢測這些化學物質對人體的影響，”科學家托馬斯·卓勒告訴彭博新聞社，“我當然非常希望它們都是安全的。但是我們在動物身上的研究得到了不安全的結果，所以我想我們是在冒很大的風險做這件事情。”

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.
與此同時，高露潔公司依然表示35頁的報告無法證明三氯生對人體的危害，相反，這種化學物質的安全性已在總計樣本量達1萬9千人的80項臨牀研究中得到了證實。

'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.
“在高露潔全效牙膏出現在美國市場上的這近18年的時間裏，還沒發生過任何與安全性有關的不良事件。”公司發言人托馬斯·迪皮亞扎說。

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.
他還補充道，雖然FDA曾經擔心過三氯生的致癌性，但1997年的一項研究發現它不會帶給人們癌症風險。

Colgate said it has no plans to reformulate Total toothpaste.
高露潔公司還表示他們沒有計劃對高露潔全效牙膏做出改變。

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在其網站上稱三氯生對人類的危險性仍然“未知”，但是在動物身上得到的研究結果讓他們有充分理由進行再次檢測。

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.
藥品管理機構目前正在重新審查該化學物質的危險性，但是如果他們發現了充分的理由他們也只會重新覈查高露潔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.
由於對該化學物質的擔憂，明尼蘇達州已經制定法律從五月份起將其禁用。雅芳及強生公司也宣佈在其產品中去除該化學物質。

In 2010, the European Union banned triclosan in materials that come into contact with food.
2010年的時候，歐盟已經規定在生產與食品接觸的材料中禁用三氯生。