Cleaning up anticancer drugs.

• Position: Sterilization - Hazardous Drug Clean - Brief article

A set of towelettes developed by two researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, safely can remove difficult-to-clean anticancer drugs commonly found on surfaces in hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and labs. The product is called Hazardous Drug Clean, or HDClean.

"Health care workers who prepare, administer, and dispose of chemotherapy drugs are at increased risk of developing health complications, such as skin rashes, infertility, and other problems," notes Stephen Eckel, adjunct assistant professor at the School of Pharmacy. "This is one way to reduce exposure and maintain a safe working environment."

Cleaning products currently employed in pharmacies, labs, and hospitals worldwide typically use solutions that contain alcohol or water, or a combination of the two, explains William Zamboni, who, along with Eckel, created HDClean. While these products commonly are used to disinfect, they are not recommended as agents to remove the presence of hazardous drugs.

"Hazardous drug contamination is very difficult to clean up because it will...