Biobased Products and Worker Safety

While interest in saving money and being environmentally friendly is great for many in the cleaning industry, those who have employees on the front line, using cleaning products for hours every workday, know their first priority is protecting their labor investment. With labor costs ever-increasing, it is wise for employers to decrease risk of employee injury as much as possible by implementing safety programs.

Exposure to some traditional cleaning chemicals such as bleach, ammonia and disinfectants, puts workers at risk. Harsh chemicals can burn skin, eyes and mucous membranes in the nose and mouth. Today’s biobased general cleaners — containing biological products of renewable agricultural crops such as citrus, soy, corn and coconut — are formulated to clean in dilutions that are generally much safer for workers to be exposed to, with fewer VOCs. Some allow workers to go without personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks and safety goggles, and do not endanger them like many traditional chemicals might.