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WASHINGTON (April 2, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continuing its commitment to increasing the availability of surface disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. List N: Disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2 (List N) now contains over 360 products and has enhanced functionality to allow users to sort these products by surface type and use site. EPA is also continuing to expedite the review process for new disinfectants.
Previously, all products on List N had to have either an EPA emerging viral pathogen claim or have demonstrated efficacy against another human coronavirus. Now, List N also includes products on EPA’s List G: Products effective against norovirus and List L: Products effecting against the Ebola virus as these products also meet EPA's criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 .
In addition, EPA has updated List N to include the types of surfaces products can be used on (e.g., hard or soft) and use sites (e.g., hospital, institutional or residential). Products that can be applied via fogging are now noted in the formulation column. This additional information will empower the public to choose products that are appropriate for their specific circumstances.
To help the public better understand List N: Disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2 , EPA has updated the content on List N and the Frequently Asked Questions about disinfectants related to coronavirus. The FAQ update provides new information on pesticide safety, enforcement, and pesticide devices. It also includes enhanced explanations of why List N products are qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2 and how these products can be used most effectively.
EPA has continued to adapt its processes to ensure the supply of disinfectants keeps pace with demand. EPA recently announced additional flexibility that allows manufacturers of already-registered EPA disinfectants to obtain certain active and inactive (i.e., inert) ingredients from any source of suppliers without checking with the Agency first. Today, EPA added 48 additional chemicals to its list of commodity inert ingredients . This regulatory flexibility aims to help ease the production and availability of EPA-registered disinfectants.
EPA also is expediting all requests for company numbers and establishment numbers to enable new pesticide-producing establishments to come online as quickly as possible.
For more information on EPA’s efforts to address the novel coronavirus, visit: www.epa.gov/coronavirus.
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