Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,

research reveals
Level 1: Elementary

1
  Warmer

a. In pairs or groups, discuss these questions.

1. What do you use to clean your house?

2. During the pandemic, did you clean differently?

2
  Key words

a. Choose the correct word to match the definitions below. Find and highlight the words in the
article to read them in context. Words may appear in a different form.

1. a substance that kills bacteria and makes things very clean

a. disinfectant b. safe c. water

2. a small wet cloth used once for cleaning something

a. wipe b. health c. air

3. when a disease affects many people in a country or the world

a. the flu b. pandemic c. medicine

4. increase

a. go down b. go up c. safe

5. not hurt, sick, or in danger

a. group b. health c. safe

6. produced by a process involving chemistry

a. water b. chemical c. go up

7. a form of bacteria that makes people or animals sick

a. germ b. disinfectant c. medicine

8. get things and keep them together

a. air b. machine c. collect

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 Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,
research reveals
Level 1: Elementary
9. something you take to make an illness better

a. medicine b. health c. group

10. the gas around us that we breathe

a. health b. safe c. air

b. Use some of the key words from task A to complete these sentences. You may have to change
the form of the word.

• My son (1) comic books.

• (2) (3) became popular during the

COVID (4) .

• The doctor told me to take this (5) twice a day.

• It’s nice to go outside for some fresh (6) .

• The hospital saw the number of patients (7) every day.

• The police should help people feel (8) .

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 Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,
research reveals
Level 1: Elementary
Tom Perkins 10 Research suggests 10 Quats are often only a
11 May, 2023 little better than soap and water, and we don’t
need them to stop Covid because it moves
1 Since the beginning of the pandemic, the use through the air.
of disinfectants around the world has gone 11 Soap and water are safest for cleaning,
up. Clorox made 1.5 million wipe packages a Carignan added. She said we should only
day by mid-2021. 83% of people said they had use disinfectants when someone is ill or has
used a disinfectant wipe in the last week. stomach flu; even then, people should rarely
2 As schools opened again, a group of scientists use them.
were worried as they heard about kids using 12 Scientists are asking for more studies on
these wipes on their desks or teachers using quats, including what they do to human health,
disinfectant machines. clear product information, and using them only
when we need them and when there is no
3 The scientists knew these products did not do safer choice.
much to keep people safe from Covid. Instead,
they put kids near a dangerous chemical group © Guardian News and Media 2023
First published in The Guardian, 11/05/2023
called QACs, or “quats”.
4 Quats are often in disinfectant wipes and
sprays, such as ones that “kill 99.9% of germs”.
But new studies show several problems: health
problems, new illnesses, and pollution, and
they are not as helpful as people think.
5 There are hundreds of QACs used in many
products, such as paint, hand sanitiser,
shampoo and more.
6 Scientists believe that most Americans have
some QACs in their blood. Recent research
checked more than 200 people in Indiana
before and after the pandemic and found quat
levels went up from about 83% before the
pandemic to 97% after.
7 Quats can enter human bodies in several
ways: through the skin, through the mouth,
by touching a disinfectant wipe or by touching
disinfected things.
8 Small children in nurseries or schools, older
people in care homes, healthcare workers,
cleaning professionals and others who often
use disinfectants have the highest chance of
quats in their bodies.
9 Quats don’t leave the human body easily and
are thought to collect in both human bodies
and the environment. The study says that quats
can kill fish and may help to make superbugs,
which are illnesses that medicine cannot stop.
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 Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,
research reveals
Level 1: Elementary

3
  Comprehension check

a. Answer the questions using information from the article.

1. How many wipe packages did Clorox make in 2021?

2. How many people said they used a wipe in the last week?

3. What is the dangerous chemical group called?

4. What is one of the problems with quats?

5. What is one product that contains these chemicals?

6. How many people in Indiana were tested for quats?

7. What are three ways the chemical can end up in people’s bodies?

8. What groups of people are most likely to have quats in their bodies?

9. What is the safest thing to clean with?

10. What did the scientists ask for?

4
  Key language

a. Use each preposition from the article to complete the sentences.

around       by       in       near       through

1. We want to travel the world.

2. I saw your medicine the kitchen.

3. Your keys are on the table the door.

4. To get there, you have to go the tunnel.

5. I’ll meet you at the café the train station.

b. Write three personalised sentences using the prepositions from the task above.
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 Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,
research reveals
Level 1: Elementary

5
  Discussion

a. Discuss these statements.

• “Quats are dangerous, but we should still clean with them.”

• “We need clear information about products with quats in them.”

• “Soap and water are not enough to clean things well.”

6 In your own words

  

a. Use an internet search engine to find more information about products that contain QACs
or quats. What are some things that have quats in them? Why are they good? Why are they
dangerous? Do you think people should use them? Why or why not?

b. Report your findings to the class and share your opinion about the issue.

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 Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,
research reveals
Level 1: Elementary – Teacher’s notes
Article summary: The article describes
recent research on toxic chemicals used
in disinfectant cleaning products and their
effects on human health.
Time: 60 minutes
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
Language focus: Prepositions
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student
1. Warmer
a. This activity aims to get students to think about
their opinions and experiences with disinfectants.
Encourage students to share personal examples and
support their opinions with reasons.
2. Key words
3. Comprehension check
a. The answers given are only suggested, and students
may correctly answer the questions in different
ways, e.g., in item 1, they may say, ‘Clorox made
1.5 million packages a day’ or similar.
Key:
1. 1.5 million
2. 83%
3. quaternary ammonium compounds
(QACs or quats)
4. They cause health problems, new illnesses, and
pollution and are less helpful than people think.
5. paint, hand sanitisers, shampoo
6. 200
7. through the skin, the mouth, by touching
disinfected things
8. children, the elderly, healthcare workers,
cleaning professionals
9. soap and water
10. more studies on quats, more information about
what they do to human health, clear product
information and using them only when needed

a. Ask students to do the exercise individually and 4. Key language

compare their answers in pairs or small groups.
a. Students could be asked to do this exercise
Key: individually and then compare their answers in
1. a. disinfectant 6. b. chemical pairs. The prepositions used are in the article. As an
2. a. wipe 7. a. germ extension activity, you could ask students to go back
3. b. pandemic 8. c. collect to the text, find them and read them in context.
4. b. go up 9. a. medicine
5. c. safe 10. c. air Key:
1. around
b. Before reading the article carefully, students 2. in
use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the 3. by, near
sentences to ensure that they understand and know 4. through
how the words are used in other contexts. 5. by, near

Key: b. Allow the class to personalise the prepositions they

1. collects 5. medicine have covered in the previous activity. Monitor and
2. Disinfectant 6. air assist students as you walk around the class. Allow
3. wipes 7. go up time for feedback, so students can share some of
4. pandemic 8. safe the sentences they have written.
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 Common disinfectant wipes expose people to dangerous chemicals,
research reveals
Level 1: Elementary – Teacher’s notes
5. Discussion

a. Students discuss the statements related to the

article and give their reasons and justifications for
each answer, referring to their own experiences
wherever possible.

6. In your own words

a. Students use an internet search engine to find more

information about products that contain QACs or
quats. Have them consider these questions: What
things have quats in them? Why are they good? Why
are they dangerous? Do you think people should use
them? Why or why not? Encourage students to give
reasons and cite personal examples.

b. Students could then present their reports to the

class. Encourage students to share the information
they’ve gathered and their opinions about the issue.

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