Steriplex disinfectant get EPA registration

SbioMed's new disinfectant, Steriplex HC, is now registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Steriplex HC kills pathogens "in a fraction of the time of competing products while remaining safe to people and the environment," SbioMed said in a press release.

The product destroys organisms such as C. sporogenes and B. subtilis spores 10 to 32 times faster than other sterilant brands, it said, adding that Steriplex HC is not toxic, corrosive, or flammable and is biodegradable.

Steriplex HC can safely be used as a non-critical care instrument soak and to disinfect all hard surfaces, SbioMed said.

The company claimed the following disadvantages of competing products:

• A glutaraldehyde product was withdrawn from the market in the U.K.
• Chlorine-based products are "extremely corrosive and harmful if inhaled or swallowed."
• Alcohol-based products offer only modest antimicrobial performance, disintegrate plastics and "are harmful if inhaled or swallowed."

The new EPA spore testing protocols required Steriplex to be tested against spore concentrations of 100 times previous testing levels, the company said, adding that EPA Registration #84545-5 was issued to SbioMed November 2, 2009.