Disinfectants Overkill: Antimicrobials and Reproductive Health
1:00 pm US Eastern Time
Slides & Resources
Disinfectants Overkill and supporting resources created by Women's Voices for the Earth, including an accompanying fact sheet, a YouTube video and a Myths & Facts of Disinfectants Quiz offered in both English and Spanish.
The CDC Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health Care Facilities was mentioned on the call by Dr. Ann Blake. The relevant portion starts on page 74 of the report at “General Cleaning Strategies for Patient-Care Areas, b) Cleaning Housekeeping Surfaces.” It's unknown whether CDC has updated these guidelines in the face of increasing rates of MRSA and H1N1.
The Health Care Without Harm document mentioned on the call by Dr. Ted Schettler on asthma/cleaning products that has sections on disinfectants, sterilants, etc., is Risks to Asthma Posed by Indoor Health Care Environments.
See a related article: Cleaning supplies can contaminate classroom air
This CHE-Fertility and Reproductive Health Working Group call highlighted the recently released Women's Voices for the Earth report, Disinfectants Overkill, which outlines the health impacts associated with common antimicrobial chemicals and safer alternatives. Presenters discussed emerging disinfectants of concern including quaternary compounds and triclosan.
Featured Speakers
- Erin Switalski, Executive Director, Women's Voices for the Earth
- Alexandra Gorman Scranton, MS, Director of Science and Research, Women's Voices for the Earth
- Patricia Hunt, PhD, Meyer Distinguished Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University
- Ann Blake, PhD, Environmental & Public Health Consulting
This call was moderated by Julia Varshavsky, CHE-Fertility Coordinator. Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Science Director for CHE and the Science and Environmental Health Network, provided a brief science update at the beginning of the call.
