“[E]xposures related to cleaning activities may constitute a risk to long-term respiratory health,” the study concluded, with researchers stating that the damage to respiratory function for women cleaners was similar to smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for 10 to 20 years.

– –

Health officials’ ‘List N’ includes disinfectants approved for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that reportedly causes COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been approved as safe for humans. Now experts are worried we’ll be facing a new epidemic of health problems linked to these toxic chemical exposures

[…]

‘List N’ Disinfectants May Not Be Proven Safe for Humans

In response to COVID-19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released “List N,” which is a list of about 400 disinfectants[ii] that meet the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2.[iii] To meet the criteria, the disinfectants must demonstrate effectiveness against a harder-to-kill virus or demonstrate efficacy against a human coronavirus similar to SARS-CoV-2.

“[T]his doesn’t mean that they have been approved because they’re considered safe with regard to human health,” exposure scientist Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Bloomberg.[iv] While studies on many of the chemicals are limited, some have been linked to asthma and other respiratory conditions, reproductive effects and neurological and dermatological problems.[v]

Exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products has long been linked to health risks. Among nurses, for instance, exposure to cleaning chemicals at work was associated with a 25% to 38% increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).[vi] This included disinfectants with the active ingredients glutaraldehyde and quaternary ammonium compounds, variants of which are included on the EPA’s List N.

Research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine also found that women responsible for cleaning at home, or who worked as house cleaners, had accelerated declines in lung function, and long-term respiratory health was impaired 10 to 20 years after cleaning activities.[vii]

“[E]xposures related to cleaning activities may constitute a risk to long-term respiratory health,” the study concluded, with researchers stating that the damage to respiratory function for women cleaners was similar to smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for 10 to 20 years.

“The effect size was comparable to the effect size related to 10-20 pack-years of tobacco smoking,” they wrote[viii] — one “pack-year” is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes (one pack) per day for one year. Other common symptoms that can occur from exposure to chemical disinfectants include nausea, eye irritation and headaches.

[…]

References

[i] KFF April 21, 2020 https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/

[ii] U.S. EPA April 23, 2020 https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-provides-critical-information-american-public-about-safe-disinfectant-use

[iii] U.S. EPA, List N https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2-covid-19

[iv] Bloomberg June 15, 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/rush-to-disinfect-offices-for-covid-19-worries-health-experts

[v] Bloomberg June 15, 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/rush-to-disinfect-offices-for-covid-19-worries-health-experts

[vi] JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913563. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13563 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2753247

[vii] Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018 May 1;197(9):1157-1163. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201706-1311OC. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29451393/

[viii] Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018 May 1;197(9):1157-1163. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201706-1311OC. https://sci-hub.tw/10.1164/rccm.201706-1311OC

[ix] U.S. EPA, Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting April 28, 2020 https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-04/documents/316485-c_reopeningamerica_guidance_4.19_6pm.pdf

[x] Bloomberg June 15, 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/rush-to-disinfect-offices-for-covid-19-worries-health-experts

[xi] Bloomberg June 15, 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/rush-to-disinfect-offices-for-covid-19-worries-health-experts

[xii] Bloomberg June 15, 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/rush-to-disinfect-offices-for-covid-19-worries-health-experts

[xiii] New Jersey Department of Health, Health Bulletin https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi22POurLLqAhXBLs0KHXSzDZ4QFjAMegQIBRAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnasemso.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FAlert-Fogging-Ambulances-May-Cause-Illness-NJ.pdf&usg=AOvVaw14mKpEcsuy4xiCZvV53nWO

[xiv] World Health Organization May 16, 2020 https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-considerations-for-the-cleaning-and-disinfection-of-environmental-surfaces-in-the-context-of-covid-19-in-non-health-care-settings

[xv] Bloomberg June 15, 2020 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-15/rush-to-disinfect-offices-for-covid-19-worries-health-experts

[xvi] Reuters March 31, 2020 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-disinfection/mass-disinfections-to-combat-coronavirus-pose-another-health-hazard-idUSKBN21I1PB