Why your business needs a safe disinfecting and reopening plan to comply with the government coronavirus (Covid-19) protocols
The facts are that the coronavirus lockdown has brought many businesses in the world to their proverbial knees. Most countries on all continents have declared a national emergency and locked down most firms and activities to prevent the spread of the virus.
The US Center of Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued the necessary coronavirus (COVID-19) cleaning and disinfection protocols to educate people about what they need to do to stay safe, but it all remains a matter of having an effective plan in place for cleaning and disinfecting commonly used surfaces in your workplace. The CDC and many local government agencies have said that during an infectious disease outbreak, such as COVID-19, business owners must prepare to protect their employees' health and safety in the workplace.
The CDC has stressed the importance of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces used commonly because the virus survives by attaching itself to people and surfaces in buildings. (1) For example, an unsuspecting employee or customer who comes into contact with the virus but is asymptomatic may be unknowingly spreading the germs on every surface they touch, and in every room, they enter.
Unfortunately, if these infected people carry the coronavirus into the workplace that is not engaged in actively disinfecting their buildings and surfaces, exposes other employees and people, it becomes a domino effect. I know it has been difficult to survive with the current lockdown, but if you open your doors. Someone gets infected by the coronavirus for simply being a patron or employee at your business; it will have devastating effects on your business. You may never recover from the negative press.
The only way to prevent this is to have an active, safe, and daily disinfecting plan that you implement quickly into your business today. However, you will find that developing safe cleaning and disinfection protocols against the coronavirus is a controversial topic. There exist quite a few options that one can take to maintain clean surfaces in their business that are virus-free, but many of these same products being promoted in the media have incredibly adverse effects on the health of human beings, pets, and the environment.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CDC have released a list of disinfectants that are effective against coronavirus. Both the EPA and CDC have stated that three ingredients are most effective against coronavirus: hydrogen peroxide, bleach, and alcohol. (2) However, the facts remain that many of the cleaners being promoted like bleach and alcohol are extremely dangerous to use and the cause many harmful effects in humans, pets, and the environment. Especially when you use these products on a daily basis as is being prescribed right now.
While bleach may pose as an ideal product for sanitizing homes and businesses because it can kill off most virus-causing bacteria and molds, the unsettling effects that it can have on humans and pets far outweigh the benefits. From causing asthma to even death in some cases, bleach is not something you want in your daily disinfectant arsenal.
For example, as I explained in my article, Why bleach is the worst disinfectant to use against the coronavirus when you use bleach in a spray bottle or fogger, you create small droplets of chlorine toxins that can easily be inhaled into the lungs by yourself and also anyone nearby such as the elderly and children.
Also, when these droplets become combined with other types of cleaning products such as toilet bowl cleaners or various ammonia-based products (including urine), the effects of bleach can be deadly. When mixed with other products, bleach starts to produce chlorine gas. This harmful gas displaces oxygen in the air. So this means that the person who breathes it in can pass out or even die from suffocation. And most of the time, mixing bleach with other cleaning products is something that occurs by accident.
The Work-Related Asthma Prevention Program (WRAPP) in the California Department of Public Health's Occupational Health Branch tracks cases of work-related asthma as a result of chemical exposures. The agency discovered that 12.5% of the work-related asthma cases were associated with toxic cleaning products, with approximately 20% having cleaning jobs, such as custodians.
More alarming is the fact that the other 80% who also developed asthma and or had their symptoms exasperate were bystanders working in areas where cleaning was occurring or recently happened. Many of these cases included many children and workers in schools. (3)
According to the California Department of Public Health, "Some ingredients found in disinfectants and sanitizers can trigger work-related asthma. They may also cause new asthma. Avoiding ingredients that can cause asthma, like bleach (sodium hypochlorite), quaternary ammonium compounds (benzalkonium chlorides), and glutaraldehyde, will help prevent people from getting asthma."
This is why in the state of California that there is a new law in regards to using disinfectants in California Schools and Child Care under the California Healthy Schools Act requires special training for use in a public school or child care center. According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, "any school staff member or school volunteer who uses disinfectants, including disinfectant wipes, is required to take a Department of Pesticide Regulation approved training annually. Having disinfectants within reach of children violates the product label, which is against the law." (4)
Using a chlorine dioxide-based product like bleach is not worth the risk to use in your business against the coronavirus or for any other reason. Instead, it's much better to turn to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or, better yet, food-grade hydrogen peroxide as a safer yet just as effective disinfecting agent. The reason food-grade is much better than regular H2O2 is that it contains no added chemicals and or stabilizers, which have also been proven to be toxic.
According to many studies and experts, all other options pale in comparison to food-grade hydrogen peroxide in safety, efficacy, and reliability. Food-grade Hydrogen peroxide is an all-powerful cleaning agent that does not have any adverse effects on human beings, pets, and the environment. Studies show that it targets and kills 99.9% of all types of microorganisms, particularly the coronavirus and many other dangerous pathogens. Further, it is safe, relatively inexpensive, versatile, and has limited adverse effects. Moreover, hydrogen peroxide need not be used in large quantities for it to be effective. For instance, the CDC report on disinfectant protocols for using the chemical provides that only 0.05% of hydrogen peroxide in a cleaner is needed to disinfect standard surfaces.
How does it work?
Hydrogen peroxide works through creating hydroxyl free radicals, which are destructive. The destructive hydroxyl free radicals attack the membrane lipids, DNA, and other crucial cell components of the viruses that they need to survive. It is sporicidal, fungicidal, virucidal, mycobactericidal, and bactericidal that has been proven to even kill the coronavirus (COVID-19). It can be used as a low-level and also high-level disinfectant and as a sterilizer for homes, personal property, and commercial settings such as schools, and in-hospital rooms and equipment depending on its concentration.
By attacking the parts of bacterial, viral, and mold cells, H2O2 substantially slows down the spread of the microbes. The destructive hydroxyl free radicals work to creates a sterile environment, that is, one which in microbes cannot live or exist, thus keeping such surfaces clear of disease-causing organisms.
The CDC report on chemical disinfectants includes protocols for using hydrogen peroxide as low as .05% for a regular disinfecting cleaner. As a high-level disinfectant, the user must employ 7.5% hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes at 20 degrees Centigrade. To be used as a high-grade sterilizer, the user must use the same concentration for 6 hours at 20 degrees centigrade. It can be used for 21 days and has a stable shelf life of 2 years.
Hydrogen peroxide is an inexpensive, effective disinfectant and sanitizing agent that has relatively few disadvantages. Of the different disinfectants and cleaners commercially available, time and time again, hydrogen peroxide is far superior at disinfecting and sterilizing an environment. (5)
Where can you buy it?
Our company, Pure Hydrogen Peroxide, sells and distributes food-grade H2O2 by the gallon and or in bulk via wholesale online in the United States. You can check out our prices in our shop at this link or call us at 619-349-7033 Monday - Friday 7 am PST - 6 pm PST to speak with a customer service representative.
SOURCES:
1. CDC
2. EPA and CDC
3. CDC
4. Occupational Health Branch California Department of Public Health
5. What is hydrogen peroxide?
Other Works Cited
Brian, D. A., and R. S. Baric. "Coronavirus Genome Structure and Replication." Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology Coronavirus Replication and Reverse Genetics, pp. 1–30., doi:10.1007/3-540-26765-4_1. "COVID-19: Resources for Households." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 Mar. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/home/cleaning-disinfection.html. Kampf, Günter. "Potential Role of Inanimate Surfaces for the Spread of Coronaviruses and Their Inactivation with Disinfectant Agents." Infection Prevention in Practice, vol. 2, no. 2, 2020, p. 100044., doi:10.1016/j.infpip.2020.100044. "List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2." EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 5 Mar. 2020, www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2.