How to search and use the EPA’s COVID-19 disinfectant list?

Whether your dental health team is planning to re-open, or has recently re-opened, surface disinfection has taken on a whole new dimension. Cleaning the dental operatory between patients has shifted from defending against bloodborne pathogens to managing the problems of a virus that can potentially be deadly.

By now, the infection control leads in every practice will have heard of the EPA’s List N. Released in March, the list features EPA-registered disinfectant products that are qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

How does a product get on List N?

Products on the list qualify not because they were tested specifically against this new strain of coronavirus, but because they are proven to kill much tougher viruses like Poliovirus or Norovirus.

That ability to kill tough viruses is how OPTIM meets the requirements of the EPA’s emerging viral pathogens claim – and meeting that claim puts it on List N. To be able to make this claim, product manufacturers must provide EPA with data, in advance of an outbreak, that shows their products are effective against harder-to-kill viruses than SARS-CoV-2. Not sure that this is true…it’s more about the claims that we make when we register a product, not that we provide them data before an outbreak.

How to find a product on List N?

You’d think that searching the list by the product’s name would be easier than it is. Most of the more than 400 products on List N show the primary registrant’s original product name. But if the product is distributed under another name, that name may not show up on the list. This is why the EPA registration number on the label is so important.

In fact, many of the products on the list are marketed and sold under different brand names, but if they have the same EPA registration number, they are related products.

Is OPTIM on List N?

For example, if you want to search for OPTIM, enter the EPA registration number found on the label. This is a 12-digit number separated into three groups. What makes this number so long is that it combines the primary EPA registration number with the distributor number.

In the case of OPTIM, if you search 74559-10-83259, you will find a match for 74559-10. If the first two sets of numbers match a primary registration number that is on List N, the product is the equivalent to the listed product.

What else does List N tell you?

List N is for more than just figuring out if a product is qualified to do the job. It also organizes results in terms of how quickly a product works.

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