Disinfectants Can Cause Asthma

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  Disinfectants are readily available and frequently used in many work settings, including schools, offices, health care, and manufacturing. However, disinfectants are pesticides, and many contain ingredients that can cause or trigger work-related asthma. People may not realize that products they commonly use, such as disposable wipes and common cleaners, often contain disinfectant ingredients. Disinfecting is often unnecessary, for example, for cleaning up a drink spill, a dusty workstation, or a muddy floor. Usually, cleaning with asthma-safer cleaners and microfiber is enough to keep a workplace clean and healthy. May is Asthma Awareness Month, and employers and workers can read about how to prevent work-related asthma caused by disinfectants in new fact sheets published by the Work-Related Asthma Prevention Program (WRAPP) of the California Department of Public Health. WRAPP has found over 275 people in a variety of work settings who, when interviewed, linked their work-related asthma to disinfectants. One fact sheet was created for employers, and a second fact sheet for workers is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. They explain work-related asthma, how to prevent asthma from disinfectants, what to do if a worker experiences symptoms, and new requirements for disinfectant use in California schools and childcare. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Disinfectants Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Chemical Hazards Chemicals Cleaning Compounds Occupational Exposure Respiratory Irritants
• Publisher:
  California Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059726
• Citation:
  Occupational Health Watch: May 2017. Richmond, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2017 May; :1-2
• Email:
  OHW@cdph.ca.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational Health Watch
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a1642ea56f3c118a1044b5cab041764900f3a5e06d4e9fb071057f9444df8609e06faa8737d75c38e3d4838b8fdb313d4ba7403b6e74d2cbf47773de07fdc272
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223847/cdc_223847_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 79.26 KB ]