EPA Adds Four Disinfectants to “List N” (Bio-Spear Sanitizing Spray, Wyandotte Sanifect D2, Multi-Quat and 73 Disinfecting Acid Bathroom Cleaner)

EPA added four disinfectants to “List N.” Three of the disinfectants (Bio-Spear Sanitizing Spray, Wyandotte Sanifect D2, Multi-Quat) contain quaternary ammonium, an active ingredient linked to respiratory distress. One addition to the list (73 Disinfecting Acid Bathroom Cleaner, from EcoLab) contains Capric Acid, a safer active ingredient. Interestingly, EcoLab has 28 disinfectants on the list, of which 10 are Safer. The other two companies appear once each on the list. All four disinfectants function on hard non-porous surfaces.

EPA often makes updates to existing records on the list, as well. In this update, some disinfectants that were tested on a harder-to-kill pathogen than SARS-CoV-2 (such as Adenovirus, Poliovirus, Rhinovirus, Rotavirus) are now fully approved to kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.