Hi,
I have a question from Epidemiology control department KCS Srbije. Is there a possibility that vapors of hands and skin alcohol disinfectants could damage respiratory system. Thay are using ARCANA disinfectants-MANOPRONTO.

Thanks,
Ljubica Savic
Johnson&Johnson FRY

Please specify what kind of respiratory equipment was damaged, and what kind of material (i.e. plastic, silicone, filter etc.). Also what is the content of the Alcohol disinfectant (70%? Additives...).

Yaffa Raz

Good day Ljubica Savic

My normal response to a question like this is to pull up the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the product from the Internet from sites such as:

• http://www.msdssearch.com or
• http://siri.uvm.edu/msds/links.html

The MSDS tells the symptoms of overexposure, how to protect yourself from overexposure to the chemicals, and first aid in the event of overexposure. The MSDS tells you how hazardous the substance is and what the exposure limits for the product are. Johnson&Johnson s.r.o. have not posted a MSDS for this product on the Internet that I can find. Cidex*, Biotensid*, Manopronto* Extra, Dodesept*, Presept* is the group of J&J products that Manopronto belongs to. Cidex*, the leader of this group, is very hazardous to the respiratory system. Without a MSDS in hand, I must assume Manopronto* is also very hazardous to both skin and the respiratory system and should never be used. I can not support or recommend the use of a disinfectant without a MSDS providing safety information about the product. If this product truly has no MSDS, it means the product is not transported internationally and it is not sold by Johnson & Johnson in the USA, the home country of this international group.
If you can provide more information about this product and how it is being used, I might be able to offer some assistance.

Regards, Pete Bobb

Dear,
Manopronto of Arcana is composed of i-propanol, n-propanol, didecyldimethylammoniumchloride and 3-Decyloxy-2-hydroxy-1-aminopropan HCL It is used for hygienic and surgical handdisinfection. For the hygienic handdisinfection you apply min. 3 ml Manopronto (not diluted) for min. 30 seconds. Isopropanol may be harmful if inhaled. It is irritating to mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract. TWA Niosh Rel-10 hr. = 400 ppm = 980 mg/m³(www.camd.Iso.edu/msds). The concentration of isopropanol for disinfection is about 60 to 70% (I do not know the concentration of propanol in manopronto). Isopropanol has a specific density of 0,785. So I estimate the amount of propanol that evaporates with every handdisinfection on 1600 mg. The amounts that may be inhaled are a fraction of the evaporated volumes due to ventilation, the propanol vapor density (=2), movement of the person concerned, etc. So I do not expect any damage of the respiratory tract system.
Kind regards,
Wim Renders
p.s. The same is also the case for disinfectants with a base of ethanol. But ethanol is less toxic than isopropylalcohol.