On April 28, 2021, the US EPA announced the suspension of expediting review of surface-use disinfectants, which the recent information from CDC that the risk of being infected with COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces is considered low.
In response to the public’s need for Covid-19 pandemic, the agency has allowed for expedited review and approval of surface disinfectant products for use against SARS-CoV-2, adding over 500 products to the List N. After obtaining the news science findings, EPA is no longer prioritizing Public Health Emergency requests for new products that address surface transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
EPA will continue to follow the evolving science of the pandemic by shifting resources to the evaluation of novel products, such as those that kill airborne SAR-S-CoV-2, and to meeting critical deadlines in the registration and review of all pesticide products within its purview. In addition, considering the hundreds of EPA-registered products that are already available, EPA will no longer expedite new product registrations, emerging viral pathogen claims, SARS-CoV-2 claims, and electrostatic spraying directions for products intended to kill SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces.
EPA acknowledged that disinfectants continue to serve as one of many important tools in the fight against COVID-19. The agency will continue to review registration requests for new surface disinfectants for SARS-CoV-2 via the standard registrations process and associated deadlines required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and will continue to update List N.
