Rolf Halden, a senior sustainability scientist and director of ASU’s Center for Environmental Security, is the lead investigator of a study that examined the exposure of pregnant women and their fetuses to certain antibacterial compounds. The study, recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found common germ-killers in both the urine and umbilical cords of the women that were screened.

In addition to a concern that antibacterial compounds may contribute to growing antibiotic resistance, there is evidence that materials like triclosan and triclocarban are linked to developmental and reproductive problems. Information of this nature has prompted both the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency to consider the safety of these compounds.