The EPA alert on the safe use of disinfectants on surfaces to prevent contagion.

Before the re-opening of most sectors of the economy following the relaxation of the guidelines against the COVID-19the U.s. Environmental Protection agency (EPA) he urged the safe use of disinfectants on surfaces to prevent new infections.

Carmen Guerrero, director of the Division of Environmental Protection of the Caribbean EPA, he warned that the improper handling of these products may result in adverse effects on health and the natural environment. Therefore, the first recommendation to the public, particularly the owners of businesses and industries in reopening, it is only to buy disinfectants approved by the EPA.

Under the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and rodenticide act, the EPA is the agency responsible for regulating disinfectants of surfaces. While, the Federal administration of Food and Drug (FDA, in English) has jurisdiction over disinfectants that are applied to the body (“hand sanitizer” and soaps, for example).

The EPA has a registration of disinfectants, known in English as “List N” and published in the page epa.gov/listn that citizens can consult to know which products are approved. At the time, noted Warrior, in the registry there are nearly 400 products, “qualified as effective” against the coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. The list is constantly updated.

“Now that the government is in the process of reopening the various sectors of the economy, people are going to be in the search for effective products to eliminate the virus that is found on the surface. We have noticed that there is a lot of confusion, so this is an important opportunity for people to learn and educate yourself about the registration of disinfectants in the agency,” said the Warrior The New Day.

He explained that apart from registration, the citizenship may know if a product is approved by the EPA to verify the label. To have the endorsement of the federal agency, appears the phrase “EPA Reg. No.” followed by several numbers.

“Are you selling many products such as disinfectants that do not comply withthe requirements of the EPA and can be misleading. Worse yet, they may be relying on a product that is not effective; on the contrary, harmful and detrimental to the public health and safety of the people,” he said, informing that his office has received “countless complaints” related to this topic.

Among the label instructions that must be followed are clean previously the surface with water and soap, to respect the time of contact and to keep the area moist to ensure that the product works well, use gloves and wash hands when finished, and keep the sanitizer out of the reach of children.

“Not all applications are similar. Each product has its own peculiarities on how to be effective in its use. Some, for example, there is that to dilute it, and another thing very important is that you should not mix products,” he said.

The EPA also recommends that, in case of doubt with disinfectants, consult with industrial hygienists.

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