On Monday, August 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency)
approved a Section 18 emergency exemption under the federal pesticide law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), for a long-lasting surface disinfectant effective against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
EPA defines “long-lasting” or “residual” efficacy in antimicrobial products as continuously effective against bacteria or viruses “over the course of hours to months.” This is the Agency’s first approval of antiviral long-lasting efficacy claims, and the approval applies to Allied BioScience’s SurfaceWise2 product. SurfaceWise2 is meant to be applied to surface coatings and has been reviewed by EPA for claims that it inactivates viruses (including coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2) and bacteria within two hours of contact and for up to seven days thereafter. EPA has made clear that the product is not a replacement for regular cleaning and disinfection with other products the agency has approved in its
List N for use against the novel coronavirus.