Correction: UK Hand Sanitizer Initiative: Alcohol-FREE

Proving how gullible people can be when reading news media 'stories', this blog erroneously re-reported a news account from the UK profiling Nettoyer Media, a company that is installing hand sanitizer dispenser / advertising kiosks throughout London's underground train system--and other public transportation locations.

Of course it sounded ludicrous that any responsible and elementary-school educated person would make a decision to install devices that contained alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers within public areas--as opposed to using an alcohol-free hand sanitizer formula.

But then again, after comments from the Office of the Architect in Washington DC--and confirmed by the Chief of Staff to the Office of the Physician--certain Washington administrators have done exactly that--of more than 140 portable hand dispenser stations recently installed in the lobbies of major Washington DC buildings, only 10 of those installed by the Department of Transportation and 20 of those installed by the Chicago Headquarters of the GSA have made it a point to make sure their hand hygiene stations contain alcohol-free products--while all the rest were installed by Senator Durbin's vendor--and all of those contain an alcohol-based formula--according to one distribution company familiar with the initiative.

Stated Chris Picaut--the Chief of Staff of the Office of the Physician (the medical advisory group servicing the US House of Representatives and the agency that the Architect of the Capitol Office purportedly conferred with after being introduced to the alcohol-based dispensing machines courtesy of Illinois Senator Durbin---"We wouldn't have any idea what the hand sanitizer formula is comprised of...aren't all hand sanitizers alike?" Mr. Picaut apparently expressed surprise when being told that alcohol-based hand sanitizers are flammable...and said " Thanks for telling me...but this isn't something that our office is responsible for...we administer first aid stations...."

According to the senior procurement analyst at the Office of the Architect--the agency responsible for the maintenance and operation of major US Federal Government office buildings and tourist attractions : "We have no control over what building managers procure--and we wouldn't have any idea what type of hand sanitizer products are being implemented...And since this office isn't governed by the Freedom of Information Act--we really have no obligation to provide you with any information."

Good thing that the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial are constructed mostly out of stone!

But--correction noted and kudos to Nettoyer Media and PHS Group in the UK for implementing their hand hygiene programs --and installing their hand sanitizer dispenser devices--all containing NON-Alcohol hand sanitizer formulation.