When Robert Ross has to use the cleaning solution OxyCide as part of his job as a housekeeping employee at UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, it’s not a pleasant experience.

“It burns my eyes, it makes them water. It burns my throat,” says Ross. “The best way to describe it is it’s like working with onions. You have no relief, unless you take a break and go some place that’s well ventilated so you can get some air.”

OxyCide, a relatively new hospital-cleaning product, was selected as the primary cleaning solution in nearly 20 UPMC facilities last spring. Since that time, some employees say they and their co-workers have experienced a number of adverse side effects when using the product.

“A lot of my co-workers have complained about respiratory issues, like they were having trouble breathing. A lot of them would complain about their eyes being irritated,” says Justin Sheldon, a housekeeper at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. “I’m concerned about the health effects that this product poses to not only my coworkers, but to the patients.”

Last month, Sheldon filed a complaint about the hospital’s use of OxyCide with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that regulates workplace safety. Officials at OSHA’s Pittsburgh Area Office tell City Paper that it “opened an inspection” of UPMC on Jan. 22.

The complaint raises questions about the use of toxic chemicals used to clean health-care facilities, where powerful products are necessary to kill the germs and bacteria that can cause infection. According to Ecolab, the makers of OxyCide, the product has proven effective at killing infection-causing “clostridium difficle spores.” According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, treating C. difficile infections cost the health-care industry $1.5 billion each year.

And UPMC isn’t alone in its use of OxyCide. The chemical is also used at facilities that are part of the Allegheny Health Network (which includes Allegheny General and West Penn hospitals). After confirming that OxyCide is used in Allegheny Health Network hospitals, a spokesperson did not respond to additional questions about the product’s use in these facilities.

So how do hospitals weigh the costs and benefits of cleaning solutions in an effort to ensure both patients and employees are protected? In the case of OxyCide, employees say a product that is supposed to keep patients from getting sick, is making them sick.

When OxyCide hit the market in 2013, it was advertised as a non-bleach alternative cleaner for daily use in health-care settings. According to a 2012 study, the use of OxyCide resulted in a 36.5 percent reduction of bacteria on hospital surfaces when compared to other disinfectants.

In a statement from Ecolab in response to an email from City Paper regarding the OSHA complaint, spokesperson Roman Blahoski said OxyCide “is an EPA-registered product that has undergone rigorous testing for use in health-care environments.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.7 million people acquire health-care-associated infections annually, resulting in 150,000 deaths. Infections caused by C. difficile are linked to 14,000 deaths each year.

“OxyCide is proven effective against several harmful bacteria and viruses that are known to cause health-care-associated infections,” says Blahoski. “Hospitals across the country are finding that OxyCide is a key component of their programs to battle health-care-acquired infections.”

This criteria factored into UPMC’s decision to use the product locally.

“We are committed to maintaining safe, sanitary facilities for our patients and employees,” says UPMC spokesperson Gloria Kreps. “Ecolab, the manufacturer of OxyCide, represents that OxyCide is an EPA-approved cleaner that is safe when used correctly and reduces patient exposure to dozens of dangerous organisms. We have no reason to doubt them.”

In response to the OSHA complaint filed by UPMC employees, Kreps says, “Though it is true that the product has a vinegar-like scent, we believe it is the right thing to do for our patients.”

And added, “As with any product, its safe use by our employees is of utmost importance and any issues regarding its safe use are investigated immediately.”

OxyCide is advertised as a safer alternative to other products because it is dispersed from a container that eliminates the need for manual pouring and mixing. The product gets dispensed via a container that dilutes the chemical solution with water. But even diluted, employees say, the disinfectant is powerful.

In an employee-conducted survey of 244 UPMC workers, 81 percent of respondents indicated they had suffered negative effects from OxyCide. The most common effects were a runny or burning nose, which was experienced by 56 percent of respondents; and headaches, which were experienced by 50 percent. In addition, 6 percent reported other effects, including nose bleeds and vomiting.

“[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,” says Ross. “Everywhere this product is being used it should be gotten rid of.”

Last year, employees at the University of Vermont Medical Center had the same thought after OxyCide was introduced to their facilities.

“Some of our members started complaining of fairly severe symptoms,” says Laurie Aunchman, president of AFT-Vermont, a union that represents nurses.

According to Ecolab, the product’s active ingredients are hydrogen peroxide and peracetic/peroxyacetic acid. The product’s safety-data sheet lists a number of precautionary measures for using the product if it is handled in its non-diluted form.

If handled “as sold,” the sheet says users should wear protective clothing like goggles, gloves and an apron. Users should also wear a respirator “when ventilation is inadequate and occupational exposure limits are exceeded.”

But these recommendations are not the same for use of the chemical in its diluted form, which is what is typically handled by hospital workers. While the data sheet does not recommend protective gear when using OxyCide in its diluted form, it does recommend using it only with “adequate ventilation.”

These recommendations don’t jibe with what nurses at the Vermont Medical Center were experiencing.

“Even though the product has been tested, when people start having negative reactions, you have to look at whether this is safe. I don’t care what the literature says that the company is giving you,” Aunchman says. “I’ve seen rashes. One housekeeper in the area I work in, she was wearing gloves, but it was above the glove line.”

For these reasons, last month VMC stopped using OxyCide.

“We did our own thorough review and pilot program with this product prior to starting to use it throughout the facilities at the end of September,” says Mike Noble, spokesperson for VCM. “A number of our staff began to report they experienced skin and/or respiratory irritation associated with this product.”

While staff at VMC filed an OSHA complaint, the decision by administrators to stop using OxyCide came before OSHA’s ruling, which has yet to be released and is expected later this month.

“In response, we tried to address these concerns by adjusting our application methods.  Even after these adjustments, we continued to receive reports of staff being negatively affected, therefore we made the decision to discontinue use of the product in January,” says Noble. “We felt that the expected benefits realized by the use of OxyCide simply do not outweigh the impact on our team or the potential impact on patients.”

Some say all chemicals should undergo more research before being made available for use. According to Health Care Without Harm, an organization focused on improving sustainability and environmental justice in the health sector, the laws governing industrial chemicals do not require adequate testing of new and existing toxic chemicals and materials.

“The amount of scientific research on chemicals varies greatly, depending on the specific chemical in question,” says Rachel Gibson, director of the Safer Chemicals Program of Health Care Without Harm. “This is because of our broken federal regulatory system that allows chemicals on the market without requiring manufacturers to demonstrate that they are safe.”

The Safer Chemicals Program helps hospitals find sustainable alternatives to cleaning products, but they do not focus on disinfectants like OxyCide because of the important role disinfectants play in infection control.

“Disinfection can be a more sensitive area for hospitals to address and more difficult to navigate the tradeoffs between infection-control and potential toxic-chemical exposures, especially for those hospitals newly working on the issue of toxic chemicals,” says Gibson.

While Gibson said she wasn’t familiar with research on peracetic acid, one of the active ingredients in OxyCide, she did point to an April 2014 report by the San Francisco Department of the Environment that says there is a link between the ingredient and asthma.

William Griffin, president of Cleaning Consultants Inc., a Seattle-based company that provides companies with information on the cleaning industry, frequently works with health-care facilities. He says more hospitals are moving toward using sustainable products with fewer toxic chemicals.

“The trend is definitely toward less hazardous, less toxic products,” says Griffin, who has more than 30 years of experience in the cleaning industry. “Health care is a very good leader in that area of transitioning away from the more hazardous product to the safer products.”

While he’s a proponent of “green” and “sustainable” cleaning products that have lower environmental impacts, he says more-toxic products are necessary in the health-care industry. He also says any product can be hazardous if the correct precautions aren’t taken.

“That’s why they have goggles and that’s why they have protective equipment,” says Griffin. “In health care, we have viruses and bacteria that will kill people, and the cleaner’s job is to remove those. So the product has to be stronger than the virus. That’s why they’re disinfectants, because they kill things. So if you expose yourself to it, you’re going to get a reaction. That’s why you wear the gloves and the goggles.”

But at the local UPMC hospitals, some employees say the precautions they were trained to use when handling OxyCide are not preventing the negative side effects they’ve experienced.

“I don’t think it’s a safe product for us to use despite that people say it’s within standards,” says Sheldon, the UPMC employee who filed the OSHA complaint. “It’s causing so many problems that, quite frankly, it needs to be removed.”

This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2015.

31 replies on “OxyCide is supposed to make hospitals cleaner and safer for patients, but what about the staff that has to use it?”

  1. It’s no longer necessary to use toxic chemicals to kill bacteria in hospitals. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital used STERIPLEX SD to decontaminate after its exposure to Ebola. It’s non-toxic –EPA says no warning language or first aid instructions are required on its label — and it’s 99.9999 percent effective in killing superbugs. You can find the EPA registration at steriplex.com. Sorry to sound like an advertisement, but if it keeps healthcare workers from getting sick, it’s something you might want to know about.

  2. Not so fast on the endorsement of Steriplex which is a silver based technology that must be used in a “ready-to-use” format which is extremely expensive and it comes up short on kills claims required in healthcare settings along with surface safety issues.

  3. Dave,

    Silver-based, yes. Nano-silver (the “bad” silver), no. EPA says it kills 99.9999% of germs, and I’m not aware of any test that has shown otherwise. When you consider the cost and consequences of a superbug outbreak — or making healthcare workers sick — the cost doesn’t seem so prohibitive. Like most new technologies, it is more expensive than established products, but the price will come down as more is sold.

  4. I used this product at my last job and experienced headaches, rashes, nose bleeds, itchy watery eyes, and breathing issues. I’m glad that I quit that job because my friends that still work there are having a horrible time with this product. I will never work for a place that uses this product. I truly believe this product is not safe.

  6. We also uses it at our Hospital although it may do the job but we too as a cleaner have noses burnining and running.I just want to know is is safe to in hale it. I do see the word acid on the label.

  7. This article does a real disservice to the people in Pittsburgh who have lost family members from the c.difficile strain that started at UPMC in 2000 and has grown to epidemic proportions.

    According to the CDC, in 2000 UPMC had “a nearly 4-fold increase in the rate of C. difficile infection, and dozens of patients either died or underwent colectomy for toxic megacolon.”

    Oxycide has been shown to be effective against c. diff. While it is unfortunate that UPMC’s workers may be required to wear gloves and a respirator to use Oxycide, the deaths of UPMC patients due to c.diff infections is far worse.

    Google “UPMC c. diff outbreak” for more information, and see:

    http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/10/1274.full

    http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/how-st-luke-s-boise-successfully-switched-cleaners-lowered-c-diff-rates.html

  8. Pericu,
    I absolutely agree that c. diff is a huge problem and that something needs to be done to prevent the completely unnecessary deaths that it causes in many hospitals. However, I would have to disagree that “it is unfortunate that UPMC’s workers may be required to wear gloves and a respirator to use Oxycide.” The problem, in fact, is that they are being forced to use this product WITHOUT adequate protection. As a current employee, I have never seen a single worker provided with a respirator. Furthermore, many studies (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03956.x/full and http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0030183 are two good ones to start with) have linked c. diff (and other healthcare-acquired infections) much more closely with understaffing and poor infection control protocols than with any particular brand of disinfectant. Health-care acquired infections, including c. diff, kill about 75,000 people a year. That is terrifying. And beginning to address it should start with a thorough and honest review of why hospital systems continue to permit the conditions that cause them (understaffing and lax infection control procedures) and how we can convince them that those conditions are unacceptable.

  9. from all your views i got result it is dangerous whether a little bit or not so should use safe chemicals because life alternative is nothing. anyone would like to brief description about this??

  10. I challenge you to try to clean with Bleach for 8 hours and let me know how that goes. Our minds smell Bleach and we think “clean” but by no means is it a safe or non-toxic chemical, it’s actually one of the most toxic, which is why it’s not allowed in kitchens! I’m not saying OxyCide is the answer, but it’s gone through the testing with EPA and has no specific hazards for eyes, skin, or respiratory. It’s a hosptial, there is a different level of cleaning over your house or a hotel. Using OxyCide helps be proactive at killing infections such as Cdiff. A patient with Cdiff could have been in multiple different places before labs come back leaving behind spores on surfaces. Unless you are using a chemical like OxyCide or Bleach that kills Cdiff everywhere for daily cleaning, the Cdiff spores will live on that surface for weeks even after using standard Quat disinfectant.

  12. I’m unsure if they’re still using this product at our hospital. I worked for two months. Started out great. Second month switched to oxycide. Everyone got nose bleeds at one point. My chest burned. I developed asthma. I was pregnant and scared. The doctors even noticed a change in patients, as well as nurses. There were specific orders not to use oxycide on their floors. When I delivered my baby the cleaner lady started coming in. I threw a complete fit and told her to get out. Happily she obliged, only emptying trash cans. This is why I finished my degree. Because no one listens to a housekeeper.

  13. I totally agree OxyCide gives me headaches, burns my eyes, burns my nose, rashes and I am getting respiratory problems with this oxycide. I transferred out of housekeeping for 10 months and didn’t have any of these health problems but had to go back into housekeeping and now I got all the symptoms back so I know it is the daily use of this product that is causing my health problems.

  14. I agree that OxyCide is not safe for the users of it. I work as a housekkeeper and also have burning watery eyes, burning in my nose and throat, headaches, runny nose and rashes and respiratory problems. I know it is from using this product because I transferred into a different department and for 10 months didn’t have these health issues. I had to transfer back to housekeeping cause the other department was not what I expected and what do you know all the symptoms from using oxycide daily all came back! The product is not good for some people who use it daily and other workers complain and so do patients. So all these people cannot be wrong.

  16. i dont think this is safe for housekeepers to use. right now i think i am having such a bad reaction to it making me having pains in my stomach and shitting out blood. i never had this issue with any other cleaner until i use this..

  17. We also recently started using this at our hospital I am a housekeeper and it’s pure hell to work with daily to me your might be stopping c-diff but the workers are the ones who suffer in the Long run brought it to there attention only to be told we are using it ..that tells me we are of no concerns as to our health how can you get good ventilation when you are inside the hospital and in little closet to get your things ready to start your day. Please let’s get together at removing this toxic chemical for our health…

  18. We currently us it where I work. I have had a rash on my arm as soon I started using it. It feels like a burn (looks red & raw) and the longer I use it it just gets worse. I have been told to use benadryl. Runny & watery eyes/noses, bloody nones, headaches and trouble breathing all of it. Not only myself but several people. When in the prosses of cleaning people walk by complaing of the smell, it’s terrible. When thinking about it makes a person think not only are the germs being killed but so are we…
    I would like to see manager’s and supervisors using this stuff for 8hrs a day or longer and not notice what issues arise.

  19. Oxycide is a dangerous chemical. Shame on those who run a health facility that is for peoples health while having employees use such a chemical. I have read many complaints from this chemical. I have seen situations where OSHA investigated and no problem was found.
    My wife has had eye problems that presently have no cure. We have asked if it could be from the over exposure and use at Pekin Hospital (Unity Point Pekin). The doctors do not know. This stuff is bad news. If you think it kills c/diff..so does gasoline and fire.
    If you have never used it. Or been exposed to it. Or, experienced the horrible side effects. How dare you say it is good stuff.
    I think it is time a law suit was filed against the hospitals and the makers of that chemical. As well, any people involved in exposing workers to it.
    My wife may lose her sight over this chemical. No recourse. No one held responsible. No one to stop this foolishness. Not even an intervention from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 2017 or 1917 i ask you?
    Sincerely. Pissed off in Pekin, Illinois.

  20. Bleach for C diff is hugely diluted. It is cheap. It works. It doesn’t cause asthma, blindness, dementia, what next? My glands are swollen up like kumquats….

    Apparently, it is perfectly OK to poison your employees, as long as it prevents C Diff. Apparently, the lives of patients are MUCH more important than ours…Anything to avoid hiring enough employees to actually do the job properly

  21. “”Ecolab, the manufacturer of OxyCide, represents that OxyCide is an EPA-approved cleaner that is safe when used correctly and reduces patient exposure to dozens of dangerous organisms. We have no reason to doubt them.””

    AND YET….we have every reason to doubt them, since their reps claim that there are absolutely NO bad reactions reported. (One even told people to Google it!). These people are powerful Big Business who can lie with impunity and injure anyone whom they please.

  22. Where I work we use this and there is no protege equipment while cleaning. They expect us to be fast which means we breath in a lot of this chemical. I can feel it in my lungs. We are given thin gloves for this and that is all. The hospital expects so many rooms per shift to be done and want them done as fast as possible. That causes a person to breath fast and take in a lot of air. I have heard of nose bleeds and rashes. I have only been back in housekeeping for 4 months and don’t feel good, cough regularly now. I am going to have to change to a different position. Respiratory problems is extremely bad. I don’t smoke and now feel like I have a smokers cough. We are told this is safe, not.

  23. This chemical is use at my job as well at hospital in Silver spring , Maryland and as employee thats a housekeeper inside the operation rooms its harsh ! I have fallen on floor while working with this chemical to burning eyes. I dont understand how a hospital has no care for the employees for using this on daily basics. I understand that it works for all diseases especially C. Diff but there need to be another way keep not only the patients safe but the housekeepers that have to use this product as well.

  24. We also use it in our hospital. I am a housekeeping attendant also. I get headaches and by the end of my shift I have a sore throat, the next morning my voice is hoarse when I talk with my throat still sore. We have been told to wear our N95 if it’s bothers us to bad. I don’t understand why this is okay but we are not allowed to wear perfumes scents etc. Worried worker

  25. I currently work at a hospital in CT. We just switched over to this disgusting chemical about 3 weeks ago. The first day i used it, i was nauseous all day, had heartburn, a headache, burning eyes , nose and throat. I went home and was vomiting for 4 hours after work. Not fun to say the least. The people who introduced it to our housekeeping staff said that we’d get used to it!!! How about you keep that poison to yourself. I was fine cleaning with bleach. Our patients don’t even want us cleaning their rooms anymore because of the odor. How safe is that?? In our OB area, we can not use it with patients that feel sick. Is this seriously worth it? We make close to nothing to do this work and now were supposed to subject ourselves to this?? I cant take it, 3 weeks in and my asthma is acting up for the first time in years. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow because I’m now experiencing breathing problems. I just can’t catch my breath. Today, another housekeeper and i did a discharge with this stuff, we seriously had to go outside after about 10 minutes or less. The nurses came in the room to check on us and their eyes and nose started burning. What does this tell you?? I loved my job up to this point, but cleaning with this stuff i just can not do…

  26. We are using this product in our hospital right now. About 80% of us are having problems. Breathing problems, nose bleeds, coughing,–and the rep. also keeps saying that we will get used to it. I don’t want to get used to feeling so misserable. After 3 months of use it is getting worse and worse.Went to the hospital doctor today–suggested to use respirator–since we have a bad air flow in patients room. Really?? Use respirator to clean a patient room?? There is something wrong with this picture and nobody is listening.

  28. We switched over to this Oxycide disinfectant cleaner 3 weeks ago in our hospital facility and my repiratory system has been under major attact since then. Ive had watery eyes, nose running consistently, barely can catch my breathe, ear aches, sore throat, coughing all the time, sneezing and my voice became hoarse. Ive been miserable all week. I went to my doctor to be seen and she told me I have a bad allergic reaction to something which is detrimental to my health. I told her about the chemical and she immediately gave me a note to take to work informing my employer not to let me use or be around that harmful stuff. We shall see how tomorrow goes since Ill be returning back to work!

  29. we have this as a trial basis and already the patients workers and nurses have complained about the side affects of burning eyes, nose, throat, nose bleeds, headaches, heartburn, asthma acting up, and plenty of more. They say it economically cheaper and safer than the products were using now but I prefer to use the cleaning products we use now compared to this nasty chemical. How can you make a cleaning chemical that going to KILL the workers that use it. IF you pregnant you can have a miscarriage because of this chemical. if you have asthma you can have an asthma attack because of this chemical. if you have liver and or any other organ disease it can damage it even more. ITS KILLING THE WOKERS WHOM USE THIS NOT THE BOSSES BECAUSE THEY JUST SIT IN AN OFFICE 24/7. LETS ALL WORK TOGETHER TO GET THIS NASTY KILLING PRODUCT OUT OF NOT ONLY OUR HOSPITAL BUT ALL HOSPITALS!!!

  30. we have this as a trial basis and already the patients workers and nurses have complained about the side affects of burning eyes, nose, throat, nose bleeds, headaches, heartburn, asthma acting up, and plenty of more. They say it economically cheaper and safer than the products were using now but I prefer to use the cleaning products we use now compared to this nasty chemical. How can you make a cleaning chemical that going to KILL the workers that use it. IF you pregnant you can have a miscarriage because of this chemical. if you have asthma you can have an asthma attack because of this chemical. if you have liver and or any other organ disease it can damage it even more. ITS KILLING THE WOKERS WHOM USE THIS NOT THE BOSSES BECAUSE THEY JUST SIT IN AN OFFICE 24/7. LETS ALL WORK TOGETHER TO GET THIS NASTY KILLING PRODUCT OUT OF NOT ONLY OUR HOSPITAL BUT ALL HOSPITALS!!!.

  31. I’ve worked at my local hospital fo almost 13years. We started using oxycide within 15 minutes I had a massive headache ; my nose felt like someone lit a match under it and my eyes burnt and now I’m afraid I’m going to have to quit my job I work in Er and I know it’s important to kill all the germs but I can’t live with a headache for 8 hours a day

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