TAMPA, Fla. — A disinfectant popular with local government agencies has been added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of approved products for use against coronavirus, following an I-Team investigation.
I-Team Investigator Kylie McGivern first started looking into a South Carolina-based company called mPact Environmental Solutions, after government leaders spent tens of thousands of tax dollars on its products.
Port Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough County Tax Collector purchased the disinfectants in March, even though they weren’t on the EPA’s list for use against the coronavirus.
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Since the I-Team contacted mPact, its product, mPerial, has been added to the federal government’s list. The EPA continues to update that list of disinfectants that meet its criteria for use against the coronavirus.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says it has also bought the disinfectant.
The CDC recommends diluted household bleach and alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, as well as most common EPA-registered household disinfectants to disinfect surfaces for the coronavirus. Just be sure to check the product has not passed its expiration date.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published an online list of disinfectants approved for use against coronavirus.
You can search by product name, company name, active ingredient or EPA registration number. If the first two sets of numbers on the product match a number on the list, then the product meets the EPA’s criteria for use against COVID-19.