Why SLD Does Not Recommend Antimicrobial Finishes

Why SLD Does Not Recommend Antimicrobial Finishes

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NOTICE: General Reference Only
The information provided in this article is for general reference purposes only and does not constitute project-specific guidance. SLD Technology products are engineered to order, and their installation must comply with all applicable codes, standards, and project-specific specifications. In all cases, the approved project documentation and requirements take precedence over any general information contained herein. For project-specific instructions, contact your SLD Project Manager or the SLD Product Support team at: support@sldus.com.

Summary

SLD Technology does not recommend antimicrobial additives in any of our finishes, powder coat or liquid applied. We made this change after the healthcare industry's own evaluation of these products concluded the infection-control benefit was unproven while the chemical exposure risk was real.

Antimicrobial finishes remain available on request as a special-order option, but they carry a significant cost adder and require additional lead time. The reasons are explained below.

Background: the healthcare industry moved away from antimicrobial finishes

In 2015, Kaiser Permanente (one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in the United States) formally prohibited paint and other antimicrobial-treated interior building products across its facilities. At the time, Kaiser Permanente operated 38 hospitals and more than 600 medical offices and outpatient facilities.

The prohibition was issued as Bulletin 2015-05, "Prohibition of Antimicrobial Chemicals in Fabrics, Furniture and Finishes." It identified specific antimicrobial chemicals and elements to be excluded from future construction and renovation projects. Kaiser had already been steering its architects, builders, and suppliers away from these products since 2006; the 2015 bulletin converted that guidance into an outright ban.

Three findings drove the decision:
  1. The claimed benefit was not supported by evidence. Kaiser Permanente cited CDC guidance in reaching its position. The CDC's Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities, published in 2003 by the CDC and its Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, found no evidence that products treated with antimicrobial chemicals make patients healthier or prevent disease. Routine cleaning and hand hygiene remain the effective controls.
  2. The additives themselves carry toxicity concerns. Kaiser Permanente identified the banned chemicals as substances that can be toxic to both people and the environment¹. Several of the additives commonly used in coatings, including silver-based compounds in their various forms, have failed to meet safer-chemical screening criteria used by health systems.
  3. Widespread biocide use contributes to antimicrobial resistance. Continuous low-level exposure to biocides is understood to contribute to the development of drug-resistant organisms, which was an explicit concern in Kaiser's decision.

Why this matters specifically in powder coat manufacturing

Kaiser Permanente's analysis focused on the risk to building occupants. SLD Technology's concern extends one step further up the supply chain — to the people who actually apply the finish.

Powder coating is a dry, electrostatic process. The coating exists as an airborne particulate throughout application:
  1. Inhalation exposure. Powder is aerosolized by design. Antimicrobial additives that would be encapsulated in a cured liquid film are, in powder form, respirable during application and reclaim.
  2. Dermal exposure. Powder settles on skin and clothing. Applicators handle it continuously across a shift.
  3. Cross-contamination of the booth. Powder overspray is captured and reclaimed. Once an antimicrobial powder has run through a booth, residual material persists in the reclaim system, filters, and hoses.
The occupational exposure profile for an antimicrobial powder is materially worse than for the same additive in a liquid coating, because the applicator is exposed to the raw biocide rather than a cured film.

SLD Technology's position: the marginal, unproven surface benefit of an antimicrobial finish does not justify this exposure to the people who manufacture it. We hold our vendors and coating partners to the same standard we hold ourselves.

The cost impact if an antimicrobial finish is specified

When an antimicrobial powder is run, the booth must be fully decontaminated before any standard product can be coated. That includes purging and cleaning the reclaim system, replacing filters, and cleaning guns, hoses, and hoppers. This is a full production line shutdown, not a color change.

As a result, antimicrobial finishes are quoted as a special-order adder, not a standard option. Expect:
  1. A significant per-order cost adder covering decontamination and consumables
  2. Extended lead time, since the run must be scheduled around other production
  3. Additional PPE and handling requirements documented per the additive's SDS
  4. No SLD performance or efficacy claim regarding the antimicrobial property itself

What SLD Technology provides instead

All standard SLD Technology finishes use non-antimicrobial powder coat and liquid paint systems. Our standard finishes are:
  1. Durable and fully cleanable with standard hospital-grade disinfectants
  2. Compatible with the routine cleaning protocols that infection control guidance identifies as effective
  3. Free of the additive classes prohibited by Kaiser Permanente and screened out by other health systems
If your infection-control requirement is driven by cleanability, the correct specification target is a smooth, non-porous, chemically resistant finish with a validated cleaning protocol, not a biocidal additive.

If your project still requires an antimicrobial finish

We will quote it. Two things are required before we can proceed:
  1. The specification or owner requirement driving the request. Provide the relevant specification section, submittal requirement, or written owner directive. We ask for this because antimicrobial language frequently appears in specifications that were copied forward from older documents or added without a defined performance requirement. If the requirement is stale, superseded, or based on the assumption that an antimicrobial finish improves infection control, we would rather identify that before the order is placed than after the booth and our people have been exposed.

  2. Written confirmation of the requirement and its terms. Email confirmation from the requesting party is sufficient. It needs to confirm that the requesting party has read this article and elects to proceed with the antimicrobial finish rather than the standard finish we have offered.
Alert
SLD Technology makes no efficacy or performance claim regarding the antimicrobial property, our finish warranty applies to the coating's physical performance only, and field cutting or drilling of the finished product may generate particulate containing the additive, which the requesting party is responsible for communicating to installers and maintenance personnel.

References

    SLD Technology, Inc. promotes the health and safety of our staff, our vendors, and our partners. This article reflects our standing manufacturing policy. Questions about a specific project specification should be directed to your SLD Technology Project Manager or the SLD Technology Product Support Team.