EPA says Tennessee’s free face masks are safe
The free face masks distributed by Tennessee to slow the spread of coronavirus are safe to use, said the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA told Knox News that people don’t need to worry about using the masks, which are treated with an antimicrobial called Silvadur 930 Flex that prevents masks from getting smelly.
“EPA has evaluated Silvadur 930 Flex and determined that it is safe for use as a materials preservative in textiles or fabric,” according to a statement obtained by Knox News from the EPA’S Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
“Once Silvadur 930 Flex is incorporated or impregnated into the fabric, it is extremely unlikely that it would be inhaled; therefore, EPA considers inhalation exposures to be negligible and not of concern.”
County health departments, and eventually the state, halted distribution of the masks last week after a report by a Nashville TV station said the masks posed a danger from inhalation of the silver-based substance incorporated into the masks.
The TV station, however, misidentified the substance in the masks produced by Renfro Corp., a North Carolina company tapped by Tennessee to provide 5 million masks to residents for free distribution to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
“When evaluating Silvadur 930 Flex, EPA considered incidental oral exposures from children mouthing items such as towels and blankets and dermal exposures from adults and children wearing clothing,” the agency’s statement said. “EPA used potential skin exposures as a baseline to compare other types of exposure. Note that Silvadur 930 is used extensively in bandages and skin preparations, and there are no risks of concern at low concentrations such as would be found in this fabric.”
The masks were designed in collaboration with Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-salem, North Carolina, as part of a local initiative called “Mask the City.”
Tennessee decided to stop distributing the masks after a report by News Channel 5 in Nashville raised concerns about whether the masks may be harmful to wear over the nose and mouth. The report initially identified a different product with a similar name, Silvadur, not the Silvadur 930 Flex used on the masks. The station later said the incorrect information came from the governor’s office.
Renfro CEO Stan Jewell says the masks treated with Silvadur 930 Flex are harmless and that products using Silvadur’s various formulations have been used in other textile products, like towels, linens, clothes and even face masks, for years.
“There wasn’t ever really a question of whether we should or shouldn’t use (Silvadur 930 Flex). It makes a better product,” Jewell said.
He explained that many companies use this treatment to protect clothes and fabrics from odor-causing bacteria, not kill viruses.
Dozens of products containing Silvadur including towels, underwear and face masks are available for purchase.
EPA documents reveal that the agency has regulated the use of Silvadur in fabric since at least 2009.
Bill Jordan, retired deputy director of the EPA Office of Pesticides, explained that the EPA is extraordinarily careful with respect to textile antimicrobials. The EPA assesses toxic exposure risk for fabrics and textiles assuming that infants would be exposed.
“EPA would assume that the highest possible amount of silver in the textile product was ingested by the baby wearing the product,” Jordan said. “If the amounts were so small so as not to be a problem, the EPA would say it’s all right to use the material to treat the fabric.”
Silver has been used in medicine, water sterilization and food preservation for thousands of years. The earliest record dates to Persia in 4000 BCE, when silver containers were used by the Persians to maintain a supply of drinkable water. Silver is used in catheters and tooth fillings. Experimental implanted prosthetics for bone cancer patients were protective against infection after surgery. Silver-treated bandages are commonly used to prevent infection in burn patients.
“There’s very little effect from silver on mammals,” said Paul Westerhoff, professor of environmental engineering at Arizona State University.