Iranian Petrochemical Companies Join Campaign Against Coronavirus

One of the important measures taken by petrochemical companies in the past several days to help fight the rapidly spreading coronavirus in Iran has been to increase production of javel water and antiseptic solutions, managing director of Petrochemical Special Economic Zone Organization said.

“Over 1,000 tons of javel water was produced by Karoun Petrochemical Company in Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province,” Omid Shahidinia was quoted as saying by NIPNA, the official portal of the National Petrochemical Company.

Javel water, also known as liquid bleach or just bleach, is an aqueous solution containing sodium hypochlorite and some sodium chloride.

It is effective in disinfecting viruses, bacteria, fungi and germs and is also used to whiten clothes and remove stains.

The Petrochemical Research and Technology Company, a subsidiary of the National Petrochemical Company, is also producing medical alcohol and antiseptic solutions.

“Its products are supplied to health centers on a daily basis,” he added.

Antiseptics and germicides are chemical agents that destroy microorganisms that cause disease. Topical antiseptics are applied to the skin, nails or mucus membranes to cleanse wounds and prevent infection.

Assurances

Given the growing demand from downstream industries for petrochemicals in preventing and combating the deadly virus, petrochemical plants are ready to rise to the occasion until the disease is completely eradicated, Shahidinia said.

“We hope that we can curb the spread of the virus by observing all the health measures and with the help of the mass media in informing the people”.

Safety measures against the virus include cleaning hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds each time.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are more convenient compared to hand washing with soap and water in most situations in the healthcare setting. Hand washing should still be carried out if contamination is seen.

Hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol or contain a persistent antiseptic kill many different kinds of germs and viruses, including enveloped viruses such as the flu virus, the common cold virus and coronavirus.

Iran has confirmed over 8,000 cases of infection with the new coronavirus, with 300 reported having lost their lives by Tuesday afternoon.

The novel coronavirus, which was first reported in China in December, has caused an outbreak of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in Iran and 110 countries so far.

The total number of people worldwide who have tested positive for the virus has exceeded 113,000 with over 4,000 deaths.