3 ms·
Ask HN: SARS-CoV-2 survives only 4hrs on copper. Why not change handles?
There's a ton of research that copper (and brass and bronze) fittings kill bacteria and viruses. Why aren't hospitals, public buildings, grocery stores, etc all installing copper or brass or bronze surfaces everywhere?
Yes I know it would cost a lot of money, but so is the economy grinding to a halt. That's definitely not free.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.09.20033217v2.full.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_copper
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9762689/Fit-brass-fixtures-to-cut-superbugs-say-scientists.html
- GardenStick 7y agoWhy even use door handles at all? We're still using 3000 year old technology to enter buildings and rooms. Replace them with automatic doors keyed to voice or RFID.
- zeved 7y agounfortunately copper readily oxidizes in atmosphere to form carbonates (green), by touching would form sulfides (black). in general copper compounds can leach through the skin and are toxic (although in large amounts) to humans too, not just to bacteria and other microbes. brass however might be safer for long term touch. i actually saw quite a few brass handles in old buildings' doors in europe
- notahacker 7y agoIt's not an alternative to the economy grinding to a halt, because microbes (including COVID-19) transmit efficiently through other means, as well as from touching copper surfaces that have had microbes deposited on them within a few minutes as opposed to several hours (which is most handles and many surfaces in most busy public places). Still a worthwhile consideration, but handwashing instructions guidelines are probably more useful than assuming the slow-acting antimicrobial properties of certain surfaces will relieve us of the need.
- muzani 7y agoIt seems to be more economical and safer to just put everyone in a bio suit and disinfect everything, which they do even in lesser clinics here. They're reusable in future pandemics too. COVID-19 is not the worst case.
- jonahlibrach 7y agoWe should just throw everyone in a hazmat suit and continue our everyday lives!