Federal agencies Workplace exposures Mobile Apps COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic: Database of EPA-approved disinfectants available via app

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Photo: Helin Loik-Tomson/iStockphoto

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has developed a mobile app that allows users to easily search an online database of more than 400 disinfectant products that can help prevent and reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

In March, the agency published an initial list of registered disinfectants approved for use against the coronavirus and has since added to it. EPA states that coronaviruses – named for the crownlike spikes on their surfaces – are enveloped viruses, and therefore are “one of the easiest types” of viruses to eliminate with proper disinfectant use.

 

“This new app will help put important information in the hands of businesses, governments and American consumers when they are making decisions about how best to clean and disinfect buildings,” agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a May 12 press release.

Products on the list have advanced through EPA’s Emerging Viral Pathogens program because of their effectiveness against “harder-to-kill viruses.”

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