Copper traps offer a safer alternative

12-02-2014

Conex copper traps, wastes and compression fittings are ideal for medical, pharmaceutical, food preparation and other sensitive environments thanks to their proven antimicrobial properties. Because copper is capable of continuously killing pathogenic microbes it can reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections.

Although copper has been used for these properties for centuries, this has now been scientifically proven in rigorous clinical trials, undertaken at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham and similar trials across the globe.

These tests conclusively show that items made from copper have up to 95 per cent fewer micro-organisms on them, compared with the same items made out of standard materials such as stainless steel. The study shows that surfaces made with materials that contain copper kill a wide range of potentially harmful micro-organisms including MRSA, Clostridium difficile, fungi Aspergillus niger and viruses including Influenza A - H1N1.

The UK trial leader, Professor Tom Elliott says, of the startling 90-100% reduction in contamination on the copper surfaces at Selly Oak, “It’s what I would call an intelligent metal. The copper is quietly working away in the background, killing organisms all the time.”

Copper also has other advantages over other materials including its durability, it also maintains mechanical properties over a wide temperature range, is lightweight and easy to install. Copper is a sustainable material as it is 100% recyclable with no loss of properties. Recycled copper can therefore be used for exactly the same applications as newly mined copper.

For more information on the Selly Oak trials and the advantages of copper please find below some useful links:
<a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.copperinfo.co.uk/ target=" href="http://www.copperinfo.co.uk/ target=" _blank"="" rel="nofollow">Copper Development Association
European Copper Institute