Dr MP Sukumaran Nair FIE*
Following the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, lockdown extending over months have been clamped as a measure to contain the spread of the virus through contacts and proximity. Once the lockdown is lifted, most public places- educational institutions, malls and markets, entertainment houses, offices and workplaces, religious worship houses, airports and other transport transit stations etc. need to be effectively decontaminated well before the commencement of human entry and regular activity. Vulnerable points include elevator buttons, handrails / handles and call buttons, escalator handrails, public counters, intercom systems, equipment like telephone, printers/scanners, and other office machines. Such disinfection is usually carried out using chemicals used in public health services and they are now in good demand everywhere with the result that the prices are escalating. Prominant among them is Sodium hypochlorite (bleach liquor- NaOCl), a product from the chlor alkali industry which is effectively used for surface cleaning and disinfection, mild bleaching, removal bad odor and also for water purification. We have in 2000 put up a 15000 tonnes per annum Hypochlorite plant at the premises of Travancore Cochin Chemicals Ltd, Udyogamandal, Kochi to recover chlorine lost to the atmosphere during cylinder filling operations and also to ward off air pollution and the product under the EkoClean brand is being sold to small scale manufacturers of cleaning chemicals. It was used extensively for the post flood clean up of houses during the flood in 2018.
Indoor areas like entrance lobbies, corridors and staircases, escalators, elevators, security guard booths, office rooms, meeting rooms, cafeteria shall be mopped with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution to ward off any germs, bacteria or viruses. 10 % bleach liquor as supplied from the company if diluted with nine parts of water will make a fresh 1% sodium hypochlorite solution which can be directly used.
It would be appropriate now to scale up production of cleaning and disinfection chemicals- soda leach, bleaching powder (both normal and super grades) at TCC and make it available to the public and other institutions for economic and cost effective clean up and disinfection.
*Director, Centre for Green Technology and Management, Cochin
+91 9447154540, www.drmpsukumarannair.com
