The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the first disinfectant that offers long-lasting protection against the coronavirus, continuously killing the virus on surfaces for seven days.
Over the next few months, American Airlines will begin applying the product, known as SurfaceWise2, to the interior of its entire aircraft fleet, close to 1,500 planes, said David Seymour, the company’s chief operating officer. Texas-based Total Orthopedics Sports and Spine Clinics will also use the product at two of its facilities.
“This is a groundbreaking step [that is] expected to provide longer-lasting protection in public spaces, increasing consumer confidence and resuming normal air travel and other activities,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Monday.
Currently, the EPA’s approval only applies in Texas for use on American Airlines facilities and planes and at the two orthopedic facilities.
Wheeler said SurfaceWise2’s maker, Allied BioScience, has also applied for widespread approval, which would allow the product to be used on all surfaces. The EPA is working to complete that blanket approval as quickly as possible and could do so in the coming months, Wheeler added.
In the meantime, other state agencies can apply to use SurfaceWise2 in their states in various capacities, including in aircraft facilities, as it’s been used in Texas, or in other applications, such as schools.
The EPA has been pushing hard to approve disinfectants for use against the coronavirus. Since March, the agency’s chemicals office has approved more than 450 disinfectants that can combat the coronavirus in an effort to get alternatives in stores and for sale online, as big brand names, such as Lysol and Clorox, fly off the shelves.
Maha El-Sayed, the chief science officer for Allied BioScience, said the company’s product will be critical as the United States continues to reopen businesses “by offering an additional layer of continual protection.”
