A Yorkshire chemical company is offering advice on sourcing compliant and effective disinfectants as sales of key biocidal products soar with businesses clamouring to disinfect their work areas in advance of lockdown restrictions easing.
Chemical manufacturing and distribution specialists, Airedale Chemical, has seen sales of peracetic acid, a highly effective biocide, increase by 30% in the last 12 months since the pandemic took hold.
However, since 2017, biocides have been subject to the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) which relates to chemicals designed to control harmful organisms, such as bacteria, as a list of approved substances and approved suppliers of those substances.
Group chief commercial officer of Airedale Chemical, Daniel Marr, explains: “Everyone is working really hard to get their companies ready for staff returning to the work place and sanitisation is an important part of that process. But we are urging people to make sure that their supplier and the products they’re buying are approved by the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) and feature on article 95 which is the list of approved substances and suppliers.
“The chemical industry is one of the most highly regulated in the world, which means there are many regulations in place to protect people and the environment. But it also means it can be quite difficult to navigate what products are safe, suitable and certified. It is important for buyers to carry out due diligence to ensure their purchases are compliant and safe to use.
“Reputable suppliers will be able to supply efficacy data to back up claims made by certain products to confirm it will do what you’re expecting it to. It is possible that some supplies have been diluted and therefore won’t have been tested accurately and probably not as effective anymore. It can be dangerous to believe that you’re eliminating certain bacteria but you’ve been misled about its properties.”
“Asking for an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which should be available for every chemical, will provide this data as well as advice on how to handle it and how it was formulated. Manufacturers will be listed on the packaging as a ‘authorisation holder’ to check if the product is compliant unless they have been provided a letter of access by that manufacturer.”
Airedale Chemical was announced as the only approved British-based manufacturer of peracetic acid for more than four years and sales of biocides have been consistently strong for the company since then.
Daniel adds: “It has never been more important that we all do what we can for our employees, so we’re keen that those trying to abide by the rules don’t fall foul of the complicated procedures and permissions associated with buying chemicals.”
