Ecolab Inc. is a Minnesota-based company that produces hygiene, water, and energy technologies and products. Their clients include the healthcare, hospitality, and energy industry, as well as customers in other organizations.

One major part of their business is producing cleaners used in these industrial settings. 

Though the company emphasizes safety and product quality in its advertisements for products, Ecolab is facing claims that one of its products is harmful to workers. Ecolab Inc produces OxyCide, a cleaner used in hospitals. OxyCide’s active ingredients include hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, and a combination of these chemicals known as peracetic acid (also known as peroxyacetic acid, or PAA).

It is a relatively newer product, but OxyCide has already received criticism. Some workers who have had to use the product say that it causes them a range of harmful side effects, even when the user is only exposed to low levels of the chemical. At high levels of exposure to peracetic acid, users may experience far more severe symptoms.

Pittsburgh City Paper pointed out the irony that a product designed to protect human health may be harming many users. The cleaner is supposed to be effective in killing Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that Mayo Clinic says may spread in hospitals and can lead to serious and even life-threatening infections.

Pittsburgh City Paper went on to say that serious chemicals are needed to effectively kill Clostridium difficile. However, these strong chemicals may be taking their toll on those workers who have to clean with Ecolab’s OxyCide.

What are the Side Effects of OxyCide Cleaner?

Some workers report that the cleaning product Oxycide burns their eyes and throat while they use it. One called the effect “like working with onions,” stressing that there is no relief from the discomfort unless they move away from the product into a well-ventilated area. 

Other workers say that the effects of the cleaner were so bad that they had problems breathing. Still others claim that they suffered a running or burning nose and headaches. In rarer and perhaps more severe cases, nosebleeds and vomiting were reported.

One worker interviewed by the Pittsburgh City Paper says “[OxyCide is] so dangerous. It’s putting a lot of us at risk, and not just the health-care workers, but doctors and patients as well. It’s about everyone in the hospital. Everywhere this product is being used it should be gotten rid of.” 

Employees at one hospital conducted a survey of workers’ experience with the cleaner, and 81 percent of the 244 employees surveyed say that their health was negatively impacted – in direct contrast to OSHA laws meant to protect hospital employees.

Workers say that the cleaner is dangerous not just in its concentrated form, but in its diluted form as well — in other words, the workers claim that the product is dangerous and can pose a health risk in the form that is most often used. These allegations come in stark contrast to claims made by Ecolab that the cleaner is safer than others because it is dispersed in a system that does not require workers to mix or pour it.

Side effects of exposure to OxyCide cleaner may include:

• Breathing problems
• Asthma-like symptoms
• Shortness of breath
• Burning throat
• Stinging and watering eyes
• Headaches
• Skin burns
• Coughing or wheezing
• Chronic respiratory problems
• Cracked hands and nails
• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• Loss of voice
• Upset stomach
• Nausea
• Raw lips
• Sores
• More

At high levels of exposure, users may experience:

• Hemorrhage
• Edema
• Consolidation of the lungs
• More

What Are The Benefits of OxyCide?

According to Relias Media, powerful cleaning products have long posed a dilemma to the healthcare industry. Intense chemicals are often needed to tackle dangerous bacteria and viruses that can inhabit and infect hospitals. One particularly tough bacteria to be rid of is Clostridium difficile, also known as “C. diff”, the bacteria that Ecolab Inc.’s OxyCide claims to kill.

According to Relias Media, C. diff has largely resisted efforts to suppress it around the country, making powerful chemicals like OxyCide an attractive option. The bacteria are linked to 29,000 deaths each year. Still, these same chemicals often do pose serious health risks to workers — a problem that plagued hospitals long before OxyCide came on the scene.

Unfortunately, the problems illuminated in the OxyCide debate are just one part of a larger issue of cleanliness versus safety. Given that OxyCide is used in over 500 hospitals around the country, says Relias Media, it may be a problem that affects many healthcare workers.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has begun to conduct research into the effects of OxyCide. This research was spurred by complaints from workers at Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The workers reportedly requested a Health Hazard Evaluation, an evaluation whose results were that “exposure to OxyCide is associated with adverse health effects and indicate the need to minimize employee exposure,” says the interim report, as recounted by Relias Media. 

According to healthcare workers who participated in the research, around 44 percent reported at least one work-related health issue; the most commonly experienced health issues were watery eyes and nasal problems, consistent with complaints allegedly related to OxyCide use. 

Hospital Cleaning Staff Report Irritations

According to a science blog from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Health, researchers talked with 79 of the 101 environmental services workers at a Pennsylvania hospital where a disinfectant similar to OxyCide was used. The blogger did not identify by name, but listed the ingredients as hydrogen peroxide (HP), peroxyacetic acid (PAA), and acetic acid (AA), which are OxyCide’s ingredients.

Of the 79 employees interviewed, 68 percent said they had used the strong cleaner. A total of 46 percent of the employees reported watery eyes, 41 percent reported nasal problems, 28 percent reported asthma-like symptoms, 16 percent said they needed allergy medications, and 16 percent reported feeling short of breath.

The blog requested comments from workers who had used the new cleaner and how the workplace addressed the situation.

One industrial hygienist who reportedly works for a major university-based hospital said when their department switched to the high-level disinfectant, employees started to complain of burning nasal cavities, eye irritation and respiratory irritation. Those who already had diagnoses of asthma said they felt the new cleaner’s fumes made their asthma worse.  The writer suggested that perhaps the method of measuring peracetic acid levels was not accurate or that the recommended occupational exposure limit did not provide adequate protection.

Another reader wrote that she has had to use the chemical cleaner in Maryland to clean the inside of operating rooms. She says that it is so harsh that she has fallen to the floor due to the chemical burning her eyes so badly. She said she understands the cleaner works to eradicate all diseases, especially C. diff., but there needs to be an alternative to keep patients and housekeepers safe.

How to File an Ecolab Lawsuit

Ecolab Inc maintains that OxyCide has gone through “rigorous” testing, and is registered with the EPA, in response to claims that the cleaner could be harmful.

Hospitals who have started using OxyCide have also stood behind OxyCide in light of these claims that the chemical could be damaging, calling it a “key component” in their efforts to prevent infection in hospitals, while keeping both patients and employees safe.

However, healthcare staff have alleged a variety of health complications as a result of exposure to OxyCide in the course of their work, in some cases leading to permanent and disabling injuries. Despite these allegations, Ecolab continues to sell OxyCide products all across the country without warning about these issues.

If you or someone you know, like other workers, take issue with these claims that the product is safe and effective, you may want to file an Ecolab lawsuit. Talking with a knowledgeable lawyer about your experience with OxyCide can help determine if you might have a case against Ecolab. Filing an Ecolab lawsuit could be a path towards standing up to the company and gaining compensation for any injuries incurred. 

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, especially while dealing with the health complications linked with OxyCide, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.