How are the trays at the airport security lines antimicrobial? How do you make a tray microbial without cleaning it?
In: 1594
Source: I test disinfectants, and help write the European methods for disinfectants.
Some materials stop bacterial growth – metals like copper and silver. These materials are added in the making of the plastic. There is lots of evidence of this type of thing working to different degrees. Usually low level effect over time.
Liquid treatments much better than treated plastics but have a much shorter lifespan and wear out, some products claim to work for day months or years because they leave residues but there is now a growing body of evidence that shows this isn’t true and lab tests for disinfectants can’t accurately show the effects of wear on these products.
In most cases these types of product do do a little bit to help reduce bacteria but they are by no means sterile and this effect takes time, think of it as a bandade not a cure.
Marketing is the main reason nothing else
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A lot of antimicrobial surfaces are just a texture that makes it hard for things to live on. Think of it like those public benches that are designed to be uncomfortable so people wont sleep on em.
As someone from China mainland, I am tired of listening to the propaganda like the COVID-19 is adhesive to the surfaces from imported goods so that people would be infected because of the residuals. This question is quite reasonable to ascertain that this type of propaganda is far from the truth.
There is a material I remember reading about in a science journal many years ago. Essentially it was a coating that could be applied to just about any material that created tiny microscopic spikes.
In theory it was supposed to not allow microbes to survive on the surface. The spikes were a specific size which would kill anything on the surface. While also being small enough to be be able to pierce through the skin.
The trays are antimicrobial in the same sense that enhanced airport security makes planes safe, weapons free zones.
TSA has a 5% tested detection rate for weapons. The trays have stuff in them that prevent (some) microbial growth.
But both are heavily marketed as necessary and effective.
I seriously doubt that they are. I wonder where you even got that idea? Here’s something to consider: Even if the trays are completely sterile at the start of the day, even if they are soaked in Lysol and bathed in UV light, the first person in line may have walked through dog-shit, chewing-tobacco, and piss on his way from his car to the terminal. Then he puts his shoes in that tray. Then the tray goes round-and-round throughout the day to haul shoe after shoe after shoe. I don’t care what it’s made of, unless you clean it yourself or see it being cleaned, it isn’t clean or sterile in any way.
I worked for an airline and whenever a plane stayed over night or had gate time we would deep clean or quick wipe the trays off with kill all cleaner
Antimicrobial products have been in use for 20+ years. The first I can remember were those hand-carry shopping baskets.
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