I looked at the MSDS sheet on Clorox Bleach Wipes that I use
at work on a pretty regular basis. We use them specifically to clean the glucometers
after each use. Bleach wipes are quite common and required for specific
purposes throughout health care settings. The MSDS sheet did not give a lot of
detail regarding the risks of use. It does warn against mixing with other
substances and mentions that the product may cause eye or skin irritation. It
also gives first aid measures if the product is ingested, gets in the eyes,
etc. Again, this information is very brief and not specific. The purpose of
this is likely to ensure ease of use and understanding for all reading levels.
I do think that the precautions and safety measures are simple to understand,
even those with lower reading levels and who speak English as a second
language.
I looked into California OSHA, and they have several unique
plans to help further protect workers in certain industries throughout the
state. Some of their unique plans include additional measures regarding agriculture,
noise exposure, aerosol transmissible diseases, petroleum drilling and production,
and workplace violence prevention in health care among others. I find the
aerosol transmissible diseases (ATD) plan particularly interesting since I am
such an advocate for vaccines and the prevention of communicable disease. The ATD
plan specifically outlines precautions to prevent the spread of droplet transmissible
diseases and standards that must be adopted by not only health care operations,
but also police services, public health services, correctional facilities,
homeless shelters, coroners, pathology labs, some environments that deal with ventilation
and air handling, among many others. I did not know that employers outside of
health facilities were required to follow such precautions, but it is certainly
necessary for these other entities. The ATD standard for California is listed
below:
I went on the company's website to look at the chemicals in the product and found it was "sodium hypochlorite." It was interesting to note that the composition of the product is not on the label and is withheld as a "trade secret." The chemical is also toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates, oysters, and shrimp. The product should never enter the storm drains, lakes, or streams. I wonder if there is a human and environmentally safer product for hospitals to use instead of these wipes. Green teams in hospitals may be beneficial in evaluating and recommending products that are more cost-effective and carry less risk. The concept of green cleaning actually can complicate the disinfection aspect of infection control. Disinfection is the destruction of a microorganism; therefore, disinfection by nature is not a green process. Disinfectants are EPA-registered [antimicrobial] pesticides and have strict data requirements. Currently, the EPA does not allow any third-party green logos on registered disinfectants. If a customer wants to be green, he or she has to focus on cleaning things first and then do a risk assessment for areas that may be a source of environmental contamination for a transferable infection.” Someday, we will see more green products available in hospitals and in the home setting as more people begin to understand the long-term consequences of exposure and adverse health.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thecloroxcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Clorox-Germicidal-Bleach.pdf
I think is very unfortunate that the MSDS website is not able to translate into multiple languages. I was looking through the website and I notice that private companies provide translation services, but I think I should have been done already. Patients that do not speak English should get important information, especially when is a pesticide or cleaning wipes, just to keep themselves safe and their families.
ReplyDelete