GHS classification for the main ingredients in ‘bleaches, disinfectants and germicides’
The most commonly used chemical in the ‘bleaches, disinfectants and germicides’ was ethyl alcohol (CAS No. 64-17-5), which was in 29 out of 98 products. This was followed by sodium hydroxide (CAS No. 1310-73-2) was in 13 products, sodium hypochlorite (CAS No. 7681-52-9) in 12 products, isopropyl alcohol (CAS No. 67-63-0) in 9 products, and 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (CAS No. 26172-55-4) in 8 products.
Ethyl alcohol, the most commonly used chemical in the ‘bleaches, disinfectants and germicides’, was classified as ‘category 4: acute toxicity (oral)’ and ‘category 1A: carcinogenicity’. Sodium hydroxide was classified as ‘category 4: acute toxicity (oral)’ and ‘category 1 (danger): skin corrosion and irritation’, and sodium hydroxide contained lead and arsenic, classified as having CMR toxicity. The group of bleaches was confirmed to contain lead and arsenic and the MSDS for each product reported that the two metals had a concentration of less than 1 ppm (Table 4).