EXTRA hand washing and the use hand sanitisers in the Covid pandemic have caused environmental damage and, ironically for the public, also caused health problems.
Scientists led by a Trinity College Dublin expert discovered that environmental damage is significant and suggested that more eco-friendly hand hygiene options are needed.
They said that plastic packaging, chemicals found in hand gels, and increased water demand have all had a negative influence.
Carbon emissions from sanitizers were equivalent to 2pc annually due to additional manufacturing, packaging, transport, and energy use.
Chemicals added toxicity and were harmful to the ozone layer.
Dr Brett Duane, an associate professor at Trinity’s school of dentistry, was the head of the research and he recognized the importance of hand hygiene in preventing germ spread.
They said that all forms of hand hygiene have an environment cost and should be weighed against the health benefits of preventing disease transmission.
The findings also indicated a cost for public health. The average person’s lifespan would be cut by five days due to environmental damage.
The research was done with UK colleagues and is based on a year of hand-washing and hand sanitizer use by the British public.
It was estimated that each person would practice Covid hand hygiene on an average of 15 times per day. The average water, gel, and soap use for each occasion was also calculated.
It was found that sanitizing Gel containing ethanol (a common disinfectant) had the lowest environmental impacts compared to liquid soap, bar soap, and gel containing another widely-used disinfectant, isopropanol.
Dr Duane said that hand hygiene has made a huge difference in slowing down transmission of COVID-19 over these past two years.
This research, which is the first to assess the effects of sanitizing gels and increased hand washing practices in a way that quantifies their impacts on human health and the planet’s, has shown that these practices can cause significant harm.
Importantly, the study shows that sanitizing products cause less harm than soap and water practices. In particular, isopropanol based gels have a significantly lower impact.
This information is very useful for reducing further damage. However, the work also points out the need to develop new gels that are more eco-friendly.