Are We Cleaning Our Way Into a Crisis?

The downside risk of repeatedly disinfecting everything.

“Regular use” of the most common disinfectants were associated with an increased risk of COPD of between 24% and 32%.  

 

Per the EPA, in the US, researchers estimate that 5% of childhood cancer and 30% of childhood asthma are related to chemical exposures.

From the article: Issues Of The Environment: Chemical Impacts In Fighting The Spread Of COVID-19

Dr. John Meeker, Professor of Global Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences and
Senior Associate Dean for Research at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Despite this data, in a rush to turn active public environments into sterile environments, America is pouring on more powerful disinfectants and sanitizers than ever before. Multiple long-term care facility administrators have told us that staff is wiping down surfaces so often that the color of their woodwork is changing. 

The Problems

1. We know that “regular use” of common disinfectants drives significant increases in risk for COPD, causes 1 in 20 childhood cancers, and is responsible for 3 of 10 childhood asthma diagnoses.
2. In many facilities “regular use” is now happening with 4X greater frequency.

Everyone is looking for answers. K-12 administrators, facility management professionals, physician’s offices, wound care centers, nursing homes, colleges, municipalities, stadiums, airports, and restaurants – all of them applying more and more chemistry. But will there be consequences?

What is the answer?

We recently met with a municipality here in North Georgia. The assistant city manager was a pre-med major, and was especially capable of framing the problem they hoped to solve:

“We want to know what the best solutions are for the city to mitigate the risk for our staff and our customers from encountering microbes and pathogens in our buildings and emergency vehicles?”

Our Process:

1. Sites/Equipment Assessed – readings taken on bio loads from high-traffic/high touch areas to establish baselines along with a review of floor plans and project scope
2. Critical Cleaning – to optimize the coating’s bond with the facility’s surfaces, furniture, and equipment
3. Apply MicrobeCare – 99.9% percent effective antimicrobial that bonds to surfaces (applied electrostatically and by hand) that forms a biological safety net
4. Deliverables – SOPs updated to align with latest guidelines for COVID-19 and general cleaning guidelines from CDC/EPA and our antimicrobial-focused clean & disinfect processes – a combination of plant-based antimicrobial disinfectants that have residual action BAC (Botanical Antimicrobial Cleaner) that has a 99.99% effectiveness, and a hypochlorous acid solution, plus all required equipment and supplies (see also – Hypochlorous Acid: Harnessing Nature’s Germ Killer)
5. Monitoring – Ongoing monitoring and reporting of high-traffic/high touch areas

Why this approach?

These methods help prevent the spread of infection without creating other health problems. If regular use of common disinfectants and sanitizers causes COPD, childhood cancers, and dramatic increases in the incidence of asthma among children, then increasing the volume and frequency of application will prove to be a deeply flawed strategy.

Want to Learn More?

If you would like more detailed information about how we approach mitigating the risk of transmission via touch without making people sick in the process, just use the button below.

Also, check out the video at the top of this page to learn more about how MicrobeCare’s mode-of-action. At the bottom of the same page is a more detailed video of an Operating Room case study.

Please reach out if you questions about our innovative approach to environmentally aligned infection control solutions.

Also of Interest: 

11 brands of hand-sanitizer manufactured in Mexico were pulled from the market recently because they had included methanol vs. ethanol and 1-propanol contamination *. 

Botanical and safe Hand Sanitizing options.