Green Cleaning and Infection Control: An Expert Roundtable Discusses the Issues

Green cleaning has garnered a lot of attention over the last several years, but how appropriate is it for the healthcare environment, and is it compatible with infection prevention and control guidelines? ICT asked a number of industry experts to share their perspectives on this topic. Our roundtable participants are:

• Steve Ashkin, president, The Ashkin Group, LLC

• Jolynn Kennedy, marketing manager, Tornado

• Tom Morrison, vice president of marketing, Kaivac Inc.

• Mike Nelson, vice president of Marketing, Pro-Link

• Mike Sawchuk, vice president and general manager, Enviro-Solutions

• Peter Sheldon, vice president of operations, Coverall Cleaning Concepts

• Christopher Tricozzi, vice president of sales and marketing, Crown Mats and Matting

Special thanks to Robert Kravitz of AlturaSolutions Communications for his assistance with this roundtable.

ICT:There is concern on the part of environmental service professionals (ESPs) and infection control practitioners (ICPs) that green cleaning products do not have the microbial kill rates that are necessary to fight pathogenic bacteria and viruses in the healthcare environment. How do you address this concern?

Ashkin: Green disinfectants must be effective against whatever organisms the infection control department requires, and if the product is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) you can have confidence that it is effective. What is important about selecting a “green” disinfectant begins with meeting the efficacy requirement. After that, compared to the product that is currently used, look for alternatives that further reduce health and environmental impacts, which is by definition what makes a product green. Some examples of improvements include using chemicals with a more neutral pH to reduce the potential for eye and skin irritation; alternatives with no or low VOCs and no or low fragrance to reduce the potential for respiratory irritation; and products that are more highly concentrated to further reduce the impacts from packaging. But under no circumstances should you accept any product that fails to meet the efficacy requirements, green or otherwise.