This is happening now to nurses who do once a week cleanings, what do you think the results would be of cleaners who use disinfectant everyday? -Matt 

Exposure reduction strategies needed now as regular use of disinfectants by female nurses linked to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), study finds.
 
Researchers from Harvard University and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) analyzed data from more than 73,000 nurses employed in US hospitals between 2009 and 2015 and were part of the Nurses’ Health Study II

. No participants had COPD—a group of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema—at the outset of this study. By the end, 582 nurses were diagnosed with COPD.

 
Though this study was not designed to uncover an explicit causal link, the authors suggest the findings “Provide further evidence of an adverse association between disinfectants and cleaning products and respiratory health.”

Exposure common

This most recent study found almost 23 per cent of nurses used disinfectants at least once a week to clean work surfaces and 19 per cent to clean medical instruments. Overall, this use was found to increase risk of developing COPD by 35 per cent compared to those not exposed. Those using disinfectants more often – four to seven days per week – had an even greater risk.
 
The researchers also looked at specific disinfectants finding glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorite bleach, alcohol and quaternary ammonium compounds were associated with excess risk for developing COPD ranging from 25 to 36 per cent. Further still, exposure to multiple products, such as hypochlorite bleach or hydrogen peroxide and aldehydes was found to significantly increase risk...

More at source: Work Health & Safety

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