Pump Up the Awareness This October

This is the 35th year for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Back in 1985, former first lady Betty Ford, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed when her husband Gerald Ford was president, helped kick off the event to help bring attention to the disease.

The goal is to educate women about breast cancer and early detection tests. A stark fact is that 1 in 8 women who live in the U.S. will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.

To honor those in the Husky Corporation family who have been affected by breast cancer, the company is donating a portion of all proceeds from the sale of pink nozzle and splash guards to help fund the fight against breast cancer. The funds will support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, whose mission is to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the world's most promising research.

All guards are available in full grip, mate, and re-guard styles.  Re-guards are the perfect option for those who want to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month while refreshing the outward appearance of their station. The Husky design makes installation quick and simple; no service tech is required. Just place the re-guard over the nozzle and secure it with the included zip tie.

This initiative is valid on all pink nozzle and splash guards purchased through October 31, 2020. Get in touch with Husky's customer service department at 1-800-325-3558 for more information on how you can help find a cure.

When Disinfecting Fueling Equipment: Use Alcohol-based Sanitizers or Hydrogen Peroxide

The findings from Husky Corporation's tests of cleaning solutions used on fuel hanging hardware answer questions about cleaning and disinfecting practices, which gained new attention during the COVID-19 outbreak. Fuel dispensing facilities ramped up efforts to sanitize equipment, using an abundance of caution to slow the spread of the virus even though much is still unknown about the viability of surface to person transmission.

The image below shows the results of tests on fuel nozzles which used items on EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use against SARS-CoV-1 (the virus that causes COVID-19). The tests focused on active ingredients that required a contact time of fewer than 30 seconds as well as common 'off the shelf’ products that required longer surface contact. Once an hour every day, the nozzles were sanitized with the various cleaning materials and then activated for use, to replicate the same activity experienced at a typical retail fueling outlet.

The findings led to Husky's recommendation that only alcohol-based sanitizers or those made of hydrogen peroxide be used to disinfect fuel hanging hardware.  The company issued a service bulletin on June 4, 2020 recommending that disinfectants with an alcohol base of at least 70% and/or hydrogen peroxide based disinfectants be used to clean aluminum hanging hardware.

The type of alcohol used does not matter as long as it is diluted with some amount of water, because pure alcohols that are in continuous contact with aluminum will degrade the aluminum over long periods of time. Alcohol-based cleaners applied to aluminum hanging hardware will evaporate within minutes. Once the alcohol evaporates the aluminum is exposed to air and the natural passive protective layer remains intact.

Significantly, it turns out the other two disinfectants on EPA List N can have a negative corrosive / pitting reaction with aluminum components. The materials that should not be used are disinfectants that contain active ingredients with chlorides – Quaternary Ammonium and Sodium Hypochlorite. Importantly, bleach should not be used to clean fuel hanging hardware.

You can read the entire Service Bulletin at this link: http://huskycorporation.blogspot.com/2020/06/husky-corporation-service-bulletin.html

Husky Corporation Service Bulletin: Recommended Cleaning and Disinfecting Practices for Fuel Dispensing Hanging Hardware

Do Not Use Cleaning Solutions that Contain Chlorides (Bleach) on Fuel Dispensing Hanging Hardware

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has raised questions regarding the proper cleaning and disinfecting practices for commonly handled products – hanging hardware included.  

Many retail fuel dispensing facilities have updated/implemented frequent cleaning, sanitization, and disinfecting practices to limit the transmission of the Coronavirus.  While much is still unknown regarding the viability of surface to person transmission, the CDC has recommended the EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use against SARS-CoV-1 – the virus that causes COVID-19 - as the source for products to used disinfect for human Coronavirus.

Husky’s investigation focused on active ingredients that required a contact time of fewer than 30 seconds, as well as, ‘popular/off the shelf’ products that required a longer dwell time.

USE - DISINFECTANTS THAT CONTAIN	DO NOT USE - DISINFECTANTS THAT CONTAIN
·      Ethyl Alcohol 70%+ concentration ·      Hydrogen Peroxide /	·      Quaternary Ammonium ·      Sodium Hypochlorite

Disinfectants that contain active ingredients with chlorides – Quaternary Ammonium and Sodium Hypochlorite - can have a negative corrosive / pitting reaction with aluminum components.

Husky recommends removing dirt and grime with a soap and water solution followed by disinfection with a 70%+ Alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide based disinfectant.   Disinfecting timing will vary by location, consumer traffic, and usage; however, Husky recommends hourly cleaning as a standard practice.

A complete list of EPA approved disinfectant active ingredients, product names, required contact times, and manufacturers can be found at - https://cfpub.epa.gov/giwiz/disinfectants/index.cfm.

HANGING HARDWARE DISINFECTANTS - USE Active Ingredients ·       Ethyl Alcohol 70%+ Concentration ·       Hydrogen Peroxide / Peroxyacetic Acid   Common Product Names ·       Accel 5 RTU ·       Lysol Neutra AirA ·       Maguard 1522 ·       Nathan 2 ·       PeridoxRTU ·       Suretouch

HANGING HARDWARE DISINFECTANTS - DO NOT USE Active Ingredients ·       Quaternary Ammonium ·       Sodium Hyprochlorite   Common Product Names ·       Bleach-Rite ·       Clorox Everest ·       Clorox QS ·       Descide Ultra Disinfecting Towelettes ·       Lysol Brand All Purpose Cleaner ·       Lysol Kitchen Pro Antibacterial Cleaner