Overview
- In a peer-reviewed mouse study led by UC Davis, inhaled quaternary ammonium compounds caused about 100-fold more lung injury and death than the same chemicals given by mouth.
- The harmful inhalation doses produced mouse blood concentrations similar to those measured in people, which points to breathing as a plausible route of human exposure.
- Quaternary ammonium compounds, or QACs, are disinfectants used in many spray cleaners and other products that create tiny droplets that can reach deep into the lungs.
- The findings raise questions about possible links to asthma and COPD, and the lead author urged a rethink of widespread spray-based disinfectant use.
- The paper appears in Environmental Science & Technology with NIH/NIEHS funding and builds on 2021 work that found QACs in most human blood samples and tied higher levels to lower mitochondrial energy.