Following a lack of consensus amongst the experts about the chemical used as a disinfectant, sanitization tunnels planned in Indore have been put on hold. After the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended against the use of alcohol or chlorine in the tunnels, a debate started to take place. States like Tamil Nadu issued directives against tunnel installation due to concerns of the side effects.
The CEO of International Waste Management which was given the contract to install the tunnels in Indore stated that they have put the installation of tunnels in the city on hold because a lot of brainstorming is on for the right chemical that does not cause any harm on the human body.
According to the experts, exposure to a higher concentration of sodium hypochlorite in the sanitization tunnel may cause discomfort and irritation in the eyes and skin. According to the experts, a higher concentration of sodium hypochlorite in water can lead to irritation in skin, eyes, and some discomfort but if the recommended proportion is used it can be used as a good disinfectant.
Recently, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Tamil Nadu issued a directive to not use sanitization tunnel raising concerns on side effects on the human body and questioned the efficacy of these tunnels. According to WHO and few studies, sodium hypochlorite (0.5-1%) can disinfect surfaces more effectively than the human body. Sodium hypochlorite may kill virus present on the exposed body to some extent but not the one present inside the body.
With thousands of migrant workers being sprayed with disinfectant in the early days of the initial lockdown, to this, we hope we come up with better, more intelligent resorts that do not end up being another problem in an already existing calamity!
