Are There Green-Certified Disinfectants?
Before we can determine whether there are Green-certified disinfectants, let’s take a look at what has been happening in the professional cleaning industry the past few years as it relates to Green certification. Without question, those advocating Green cleaning and the use of environmentally preferable cleaning products believe that the certification process by third-party organizations such as Green Seal® and EcoLogo™ have benefited the movement and the cleaning industry. This is because it takes the guesswork out of Green. Facility managers are assured that if one of these independent organizations has certified the product, it is healthier for cleaning workers, building occupants, and the environment.
Certification has also helped the manufacturers that make these products as well as distributors who market them. With certification, the parameters are set. The manufacturers know what ingredients they can and cannot use to make a Green product, and distributors know that the certified, environmentally preferable products they sell have been evaluated and are indeed Green.
This has worked well with all kinds of cleaning products and chemicals from window cleaners to floor strippers except for one: disinfectants. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prohibits manufacturers or distributors from promoting, labeling, or marketing these products as “Green certified” to U.S. customers. The EPA has determined that Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) registration is sufficient assurance of a product’s safety and effectiveness and that any additional claims may be misleading.
Despite the EPA’s conclusion, some in the professional cleaning industry believe that scientific evidence demonstrates that many of the environmentally responsible disinfectants that perform as well as FIFRA-registered disinfectants and meet all of FIFRA’s requirements are less harmful to human health and the environment than some conventional products. This does not by any means imply that FIFRA-registered products are unsafe. It just acknowledges that some new-generation disinfectants have added benefits.
FIFRA Background
FIFRA was originally passed in 1947 and has been amended several times over the decades. The act authorizes the EPA to regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale, and use of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and antimicrobials used in the United States.
The EPA can regulate disinfectant use through labeling, packaging, composition, and disposal. As an added protective measure, the EPA also has the authority to suspend or cancel registration of a disinfectant should new information show that continued use of the product would pose unreasonable risks, including risks related to inappropriately labeling a product.
All disinfectants sold in the United States will have an EPA registration on the label along with product information. It will also include key ingredients, and list bacterial/disinfection activity, which indicates what organisms it can eliminate when used properly.
What Does This Mean for the Healthcare Industry?
Many healthcare administrators are actively trying to Green their facilities by selecting Green-certified cleaning chemicals and products. Although registration by FIFRA warrants that a product has met the EPA’s environmental and health guidelines and standards, it does not necessarily mean that additional precautions have been taken such as using safer ingredients, packaging the product to reduce packaging volume and customer exposure, and ensuring the product meets additional performance, efficacy, human health and safety, and environmental requirements.
Just as many consumers want automobiles that exceed the safety features required by law, many facility managers are demanding disinfectants with safety features above and beyond those established by EPA. Healthcare administrators in the United States must continue to select disinfectants that meet all legal requirements and are EPA registered. But many in the professional cleaning industry are working with the EPA, hopeful that the organization will begin to understand that many even safer disinfectants are available and that end customers are now asking for them.
Mike Sawchuk is vice president and general manager of Enviro-Solutions, a leading manufacturer and one of the oldest manufacturers of Green cleaning products.
BioCanadian is a distributor of Enviro-Solution products.
Sidebar:
Although disinfectants can not be certified Green, facility managers can still select disinfectants that have less impact on the environment. Steps include:
- Select disinfectants that have quantenary aluminum compounds (quats) and hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine or phenolic compounds.
- A greener disinfectant has a neutral pH, closer to 7.
- Chose low-fragrance disinfectants
- Disinfectants that have reduced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are more protective of the environment
- Contains no 2-butoxyethanol.
- Is concentrated to reduce use of packaging materials
- Performs as good as or better than harsher disinfectants
