industry news Antibacterial Soap Safety In Question The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that it will require soap manufacturers to demonstrate that their products are safe or they would be required to take them out of the products altogether. The proposal has been applauded by pub-lic health experts, who have been urging the agency to regulate antimicrobial chemicals for years, warning that they risk “scrambling hormones in children and promoting drug-resistant infections.” The proposed rule does not require pro-ducers of the soaps to take them off the market immediately; the FDA has given companies a year to “produce data show-ing that the chemicals are both safe and effective.” If companies cannot prove that their prod-ucts are safe, the chemicals will need to be removed. The rule will be open for public comment for 180 days, and does not currently apply to hand sanitizers, which will be considered separately. A damp cloth, alcohol wipes and germicidal wipes worked well in controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, but stronger measures were needed for Clostridium difficile ( C. diff ), where only bleach wipes were found to effectively kill the bacteria. Top 2013 Green Cleaning Events Set To Impact 2014 Stephen Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group and long known as the “father of green cleaning,” has released his Top 10 list of events from 2013 that are likely to accelerate the Green Cleaning Movement in 2014. The top five events of 2013 included the following: 5. Death Of Triclosan: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that there is no evidence that triclosan, found in many antibacterial hand soaps, is any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water. “Millions of Americans use antibacterial hand soap and body wash products. Although consumers generally view these products as effective tools to help prevent the spread of germs, there is currently no evidence that they are any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water.” “Further, some data suggest that long-term exposure to certain active ingredients used in antibacterial products-for example, triclosan (liquid soaps) and triclocarban (bar soaps)-could pose health risks, such as bacterial resistance or hormonal effects.” *** 4. Devices That Turn Water Into Cleaning Solutions: More than a dozen manufacturers now offer devices that create solutions that clean surfaces using ionized, electrolyzed, ozonated or steamed water, eliminating the need for plastic bottles, card-board cartons, transportation, storage, etc. and ultimately benefiting the bottom line. 3. Measuring Clean: Kudos to Jim Harris, Richard Shaughnessy, Stephen Spivak and Charlie Smith (leaders of the Cleaning Industry Research Initiative), along with ISSA and dozens of volunteers, who completed a procedure to objectively measure the cleanli-ness of surfaces. Designed initially for schools, the “Clean Standard” will help focus resources on those surfaces that really need cleaning, which should result in better health, performance and learning outcomes.**** 2. Greening Of Sports: The Green Sports Alliance is ready to reach a new demographic-the people inside buildings. Imagine the impact of one’s favorite league, team, ballplayer, racecar driver or athlete say-ing that they care about their fans, the air they breathe, the water they drink, the food they eat, as well as stewardship, conservation, and eliminating waste. 1. Release Of LEED-EBOM Version 4: After more than three years of work, five rounds of public comments and more than 10,000 comments, members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) voted to approve the newest version of LEED. Researchers Look At Tablet Disinfection Methods Doctors now commonly use electronic tablet devices for patient charts and to have refer-ence materials at their fingertips, but a new study has found that those devices can actu-ally transmit germs, including those that are resistant to antibiotics. Dr. Dubert Guerrero, an infectious disease specialist at Sanford Health, and colleagues at North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota, have published a study on methods to disinfect iPads in order to reduce contamination. The study, which was published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control , found that using a damp cloth, as recommended by manufacturers, worked well for many germs. HFI Announces The First Recipient Of The Clean For Healthful Environments (CFHE) Award The Healthy Facilities Institute (HFI) is pleased to announce Advanced Vapor Technologies (AVT) as the first recipient of the Clean for Healthful Environments (CFHE) Award. “AVT, as a member-in-good-standing of both IEHA and ISSA, manufactures and markets to the facilities community a steam vapor sanitation device with extensive sup-porting science showing efficacy, including peer-reviewed research,” said Allen Rathey, president of HFI. “In addition to field measurements show-ing efficacy in ATP reduction, the inde-pendent scientific data supporting AVT’s marketing claims are freely available on the organization’s website.” CM For daily industry news, sign up for CM e-News Daily at www.CMMOnline.com/Sign-Up. Please send any news or press releases to Editor Phillip Lawless at [email protected]. 8 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • February 2014
CMM – Archives February 2014: 8
