Green Seal's process of standard development is recognized by the American National Standards Institute and also follows a development process recognized by the International Organization for Standardization.

Imus, however, is unsatisfied with Green Seal's standards. She says they charge a huge price for their "green seal" - upwards of $7500 per product.
She also objects strongly to the fact that they do not stipulate natural or naturally-derived ingredients. But perhaps her biggest point of contention is that Green Seal does not require manufacturers to list all their ingredients.

"If you ask somebody for a list of all their ingredients and they wouldn't give it to you, why would you buy their products?" Imus asked. "How do you know it's really green?"

While Imus' Greening the Cleaning products are third party certified (Ecologo), she has her own set of standards for her green products. These include full disclosure of all ingredients, a purified water supply that is free of chlorine and residual chlorine and formulations that meet or exceed American Society for Testing and Materials standards for the specific product category for efficacy and, they must be cost competitive with traditional cleaners. "You don't have to pay more to be green," said Imus.

Officials with both organizations agreed that regardless of which products are chosen, using disinfectants in a targeted way is a key step toward greening any facility.

By law, hospitals must use traditional germicidal sanitizers to combat contagious diseases, like tuberculosis. But, as Jim Ronchi, project manager at the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology pointed out, cleaning crews don't need to use those toxic chemicals everywhere.

"What you need disinfectants for are isolation rooms and any surfaces that have been contacted with blood or body fluids," Rondi explained. "In addition, on a daily basis, mattresses, over bed tables, toilet seats and handles on doors and faucets should also be disinfected."

North Bronx Healthcare Network follows a similar strategy of targeted use of disinfectants.

"You don't necessarily have to go out with a sledge hammer instead of a fly swatter," said Peter Lucey.

Lucey looked to further minimize any risk posed by sanitizers by using hyperconcentrated products with a very low odor that are applied with a microfiber mopping system so that very little gets into the air.

GETTING RID OF THAT HOSPITAL SMELL

Once Lucey and Imus were finally ready to implement their new product regimes, they quickly discovered that doing the right thing wasn't always easy.

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