Microban Exposure from Breathing?

March 27, 2017 by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Mary

Hi Debra,

My assistant just bought a floor pad for me that says “microban” on the label.

I know that microban is an antimicrobial, but since it will be 5 feet from my nose, I don't suppose there is a need to be concerned about toxicity. However, if it wears away like my old pads do we'll be tracking the dust onto the living room carpet. But then I don't sit on the floor so maybe that's not an issue either. I would not buy a Rubbermaid dish drainer because it has microban, but this is different.

In terms of the microban, do you think it is risky to have these pads on the kitchen floor?

Thanks for your input.

Debra's Answer

This is a very good question.

I had to look this one up because exposures can happen through breathing, eating or drinking, or skin contact. And certainly if microban requires skin contact for it to get into your body, breathing it wouldn’t be an issue. Like stainless steel, for example. Perfectly fine to breathe, but it will release heavy metals into food or water.

Microban is a trade name for the chemical triclosan, so I looked up triclosan.

The primary route of entry is through the skin from personal care products and ingestion from dental care products.

Warnings from various manufacturers are limited to "skin irritation" and "serious eye irritation.”

I found an MSDS that says that inhalation is not a route of entry for triclosan in an antibacterial soap.

So this is beginning to sound like there isn’t much exposure to triclosan found on flooring pads.