In today’s professional environment, health and safety constraints are looking at protecting workers and the public. Beyond the visual cleanliness of the premises, this touches on all concerns related to biosecurity. The topic of this week’s article is disinfection and decontamination and the techniques involved.
Disinfecting and decontaminating: what’s the difference?
Disinfecting and decontaminating both refer to the same process, which consists in fighting against the presence of micro-organisms on surfaces. The difference between the two terms concerns the intended objectives.
- Decontamination is intended to reduce the number of micro-organisms in an environment to a safe and acceptable sanitary level to avoid any risk of infection. These can persist on treated surfaces without the risk of contaminating anyone.
- The objective of disinfection is to reduce the risk of infection, without reaching zero levels, by eliminating the danger linked to the presence of micro-organisms.
Disinfection, decontamination, and prevention of occupational risks
Professional premises, whatever they are, can be vulnerable to infection from micro-organisms. Contamination in the ground, surfaces, and air when they find favorable conditions for their multiplication: dust, grease, high humidity, etc.
In the absence of surface cleaning, bacteria, germs, fungi, and other viruses colonize their environment by forming a biofilm. Several factors can contribute to their proliferation, including the use of materials. The introduction of objects, specific infections, or even activities about healthcare operations.
Their presence presents a risk to humans, who can become contaminated through respiration, contact, or digestion.
Only compliance with good professional cleaning and disinfection practices can limit the contamination of people and their environment.
Important :
- Surface cleaning aims to remove dust and greasy deposits that interfere with the disinfectant activity of biocides as well as the nutrients of microorganisms.
- To be effective, disinfection must therefore be preceded by cleaning with a detergent or by using a disinfectant cleaning product if the surfaces are not very dirty.
- Disinfecting a surface only eliminates the microorganisms present at the time of the operation and does not protect against subsequent recontamination.
Disinfectants have a spectrum of activity that determines the variety of microorganisms on which they act. Active substances used must be in line with the biocidal action is a must: bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, etc.
When should we disinfect or decontaminate?
There is no universal procedure or method. The success of the operations depends on the problems of each environment concerned according to the objectives set by the risk assessment. Professional Disinfection/decontamination procedures should:
- comply with the health and safety standards in force (HACCP, RABC, etc.) in the various sectors of activity: food industry, communities, medical sector, etc.
- be adapted to the activities and/or contaminating activities, premises, and surfaces.
Disinfection and decontamination techniques
There are two ways to disinfect.
- Disinfection by manual application: it is simply a matter of using single-use support soaked in disinfectant and cleaning the surfaces: cloth, microfiber, washing strip, pre-impregnated gauze, etc.
- Disinfection of surfaces by air – which includes:
– Directed dispersal: this manual process uses a disinfectant product which is sprayed using a disinfectant spray, an electric sprayer (or manual pressure).
– Non-directed dispersant: this automatic process is carried out by spraying a gas or a dispersant (dry fog, micro-droplets, misting). We recommend this for shock treatments and make it possible to treat all the surfaces of a room. Areas and/or surfaces that are difficult to access with the manual technique can benefit from this as well.
Disinfection in the workplace: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between cleaning or disinfecting the premises?
Company cleaning
Cleaning is the act of making it clean. It’s about removing dirt. There are several types and methods such as cleaning rugs and carpets by vacuuming, dry cleaning, steam cleaning… A cleaning product is by extension a product that eliminates dirt using a surfactant that eliminates stains (grease, dust, etc.).
The surfactant also makes it possible to make the envelopes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus composed of lipids soluble.
Disinfection in business
The disinfection of premises and surfaces is always done in addition to cleaning with 1 disinfectant product. 1 disinfectant must significantly reduce microorganisms. The NFEN 14476 standard makes it possible to say whether a product is virucidal or not.
Below is a list of substances effective against Covid-19 (Coronavirus):
– Ethanol >70%
– Isopropanol >70%
– 0.5% hydrogen peroxide
– 0.1% active chlorine bleach
Read More: The Risks and Challenges of Business Process Outsourcing
