In Uttar Pradesh, migrant workers travelling to their home states, or their belongings, were sprayed with a disinfectant, apparently to sanitise them.  The chemical in the spray was a sodium hypochlorite solution.

Sodium hypochlorite

• Sodium hypochlorite is commonly used as a bleaching agent, and also to sanitise swimming pools.
• As a common bleaching agent, sodium hypochlorite is used for a variety of cleaning and disinfecting purposes.
• It releases chlorine, which is a disinfectant. Large quantities of chlorine can be harmful.
• The concentration of the chemical in the solution varies according to the purpose it is meant for.
• A normal household bleach usually is a 2-10% sodium hypochlorite solution.
• At a much lower 0.25-0.5%, this chemical is used to treat skin wounds like cuts or scrapes. An even weaker solution (0.05%) is sometimes used as a handwash.

Note: The common bleaching powder is chemically referred to as Calcium hypochlorite and not Sodium hypochlorite.

Is the chemical safe?

• Sodium hypochlorite is corrosive and is meant largely to clean hard surfaces.
• It is not recommended to be used on human beings, certainly not as a spray or shower. Even a 0.05% solution could be very harmful for the eyes.
• A 1% solution can cause damage to the skin of anyone who comes in contact with it.
• If it gets inside the body, it can cause serious harm to lungs.

Does the chemical get rid of the novel coronavirus?

• The WHO recommends homemade bleach solutions of about 2-10% concentration to clean hard surfaces to clear them of any presence of the novel coronavirus.
• Cleaning hard surfaces with this solution can disinfect them not just from novel coronavirus but also help prevent flu, food born illnesses, and more.

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