Precaution In the Age of COVID-19
The Chemicals Industry is in an arms race to beat the Coronavirus. But are these new tools safe?
During the time of the pandemic, every business owner is hoping to find a tool to meet current health and safety needs, while providing a sense of security for occupants and customers. Unfortunately, due to the novel nature of the COVID-19, many new products and tools are being released without adequate information for consumers to make informed decisions. Which brings be to the “Precautionary Principle”.
Let me begin by being transparent about my biases. I am a believer in the “Precautionary Principle” – something I hope you will consider.
If you are not familiar with it, the Precautionary Principle is a broad scientific, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes caution, pausing and review before leaping into new innovations that may prove disastrous. And in the end, it encourages us to be cautious, pause and ask the manufacturers to provide additional information before using their new, innovative products.
I point out the Precautionary Principle because I am quite concerned over the increased use of specific cleaning chemicals namely surface coatings that make claims for residual biocidal activity.
Often times when I need to illustrate the potential dangers, I mention the use of lead by the paint industry. The paint industry truly found that lead was beneficial from a performance perspective because it made paint more durable. However, it took decades to realize that the lead leached from the paint and is a neuro- and developmental toxicant for children that permanently affects their development and reduces their IQ. Since lead was banned from paint in 1970s, we are still struggling to remediate (remove) it, especially in low income housing built before that time.
As we are currently faced with dellimmas to provide a safe, workable environment for our customers and employees; now is a critical time for facility managers, and sustainability teams to ‘flex their muscle’ by providing clarity and guidance. This takes shape in helping see through the marketing language and ‘green washing’ that is popping up in the sea of new cleaning products being unveiled to deal with the novel Coronavirus.
I have recently reviewed some new products, formulated for use in combating COVID-19. It was interesting to see how much information was not included. For example, check out sections Toxicological Information and Ecological Information and see for yourself how often they simply state that the information is ND (not determined) or No Additional Information. This makes it impossible to give you feedback on its safety with any degree of confidence. And the only reason they do not have this data is because they don’t want to pay for the testing – it is simply a business decision on their part to maximize their profits.
To borrow from President Ronald Reagan – “trust but verify”. Since you are buying the product and will be responsible for any future problems associated with it – I recommend you find out what’s in the product and if they are unwilling to tell you, then I would recommend that you do not buy it. In my opinion, the marketplace needs to demand full disclosure of all ingredients in products they purchase.
Furthermore, have either of these products been approved by EPA and included in their List N?
I believe you guys are genuinely trying to do everything possible to create a safe environment for players, fans and staff. But let’s get real. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is spread through the inhalation of droplets and particles. There is literally zero epidemiological evidence that it spreads though touch. Cleaning, disinfecting and hand hygiene are all recommended simply because this is just good infection control practices, irrespective of the pathogen.
Thus, in all due respect, the use of antimicrobial surface coatings with residual efficacy are being applied as “part of the story”, but much of the science is still undecided about its benefits in cleaning to prevent viral spread in regards to COVID-19. And given the relative ‘unknown-unknowns’ regarding a product’s possible toxicity, along with potentially compounding issues like bio-accumulation make it hard to recommend new products without unambiguous information to weigh the costs and benefits.
Hence why now is a time to err on the side of precaution.
Steve.
