EPA making sure disinfectant products are available to use against coronavirus

WASHINGTON (WIAT) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking further action to help ease the production and availability of EPA-registered disinfectants.

EPA will temporarily allow manufacturers of certain already-registered EPA disinfectants to obtain certain active ingredients from any source of suppliers without checking with the agency first.

This only applies to products on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2. This action comes after last week’s announcement of EPA’s similar action on certain inert ingredients.

“It is critical that the supply of EPA-registered disinfectants keep up with the demand for these products,” Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said. “By taking this action, EPA is better protecting public health by assuring the availability of surface disinfectants to use against the novel coronavirus.”

“We appreciate EPA’s continued partnership as we all work together to keep the supply chains for cleaning products running efficiently, particularly for the disinfectants that hospitals, manufacturers and consumers need to protect against the spread of coronavirus,” Bryan Zumwalt, Executive Vice President for Public Affairs, Consumer Brands Association, said.

EPA usually requires disinfectant manufacturers to first apply for and receive EPA approval prior to making a change in the source of the active ingredient. Under this amendment, manufacturers can source certain active ingredients from alternative suppliers, inform EPA, and immediately start production, provided that the resulting formulation is chemically similar to the current formulation. This will help alleviate reports of supply chain disruptions by pesticide registrants who manufacture disinfectant products on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2.