Washing your hands with soap may clean them for you, but according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, toxic chemicals used in hand soaps, cleaners and other personal care products to kill germs is deposited and remains in the environment long after the products are used. The researchers discovered concentrations of triclocarbon in rivers and remains of waste-water treatment facilities. Author of the study Rolf U Halden said that environmental contamination with triclocarbon is widespread but underreported because conventional monitoring techniques cannot detect it.