Shortages Delay Production of Hand Sanitizers

洗手液短缺且难以生产

 

Americans are finding themselves with a never-before-seen shortage of paper and cleaning products, such as disinfectants and hand sanitizers.

 

美国人民发现自己前所未有地缺少纸张和清洁产品，例如消毒剂和洗手液。

 

Traditional cleaning products simply cannot be found at supermarkets across the country. Store owners say they do not know when new shipments will arrive.

 

全国超市根本都找不到传统的清洁产品。商店老板说，他们不知道新货什么时候到达。

 

Washing hands with soap and using household cleaning products may help with personal protection against the coronavirus. Americans often turn to disinfectant liquid or wipes for use outside the home, in vehicles and public spaces.

 

用肥皂洗手，日常使用家居清洁产品可能有助于防止个人感染冠状病毒。美国人常在室外、车辆和公共场所用消毒液或湿巾。

 

Wipes are necessary for people required to work outside the home, such as those employed by supermarkets, hospitals or drug stores. But there appears to be little chance of sanitizers returning to stores in large enough amounts to be useful.

 

对于那些需要离开家去外面工作的人们来说湿巾是必需品，例如超市、医院或药店的雇员。但消毒剂大量上市似乎机会渺茫了。

 

VOA spoke with a leading U.S. manufacturer of health and personal cleaning products to explain the shortage.

 

美国之音采访了美国一家领先的健康个护清洁产品制造商，就当前的短缺问题进行了解释。

 

“The… demand for hand sanitizers was never expected by anyone in the industry, and for that reason, none of the players in the market were prepared,” notes Rakesh Tammabattula. He serves as Chief Executive Officer of QYK Brands. The California based company owns businesses such as Dr. J’s Natural and Glowyy hand sanitizer.

 

拉克什·塔玛巴图拉指出：“业内人士从未预料到对洗手液的需求，也正因如此，没有任何厂家为此做好准备。”他是QYK Brands公司的首席执行官。这家总部位于加利福尼亚州的公司旗下拥有J博士天然洗手液和Glowyy洗手液等品牌。

 

Tammabattula said that no one could have expected the sudden demand, and importance, of sanitizers. He told VOA that the unexpectedly high demand has caused severe shortages of some raw, unprocessed materials like pure alcohol. Most sanitizers are made of pure alcohol mixed with oils or gelling substances.

 

塔玛巴图拉表示，没人能预料到消毒剂突然增大的需求和它的重要性。他对美国之音表示，意外的高需求导致纯酒精一类的待加工原料严重短缺。大多数消毒剂都是用纯酒精和油类物质或凝胶物质混合而成的。

 

In the past, manufacturers only bought as much alcohol as they needed because of its chemical properties. Now, there is not enough to meet the increased demand.

 

过去，由于酒精的化学性质制造商仅会按需购买酒精。而现在没有足够的酒精来满足日益增长的需求。

 

There is also a shortage of plastic for bottles.

 

塑料瓶也存在短缺。

 

The increasing demands have caused the prices of alcohol and other ingredients to go up about 200 percent, Tammabattula said. He added that the timelines of production have been extended to six to eight weeks. Before the pandemic, it was two or three weeks. He noted that his company will be completely out of alcohol in two weeks.

 

塔玛巴图拉表示，持续增长的需求导致酒精和其它配料的价格上涨了约200%。他还表示，产品工期已经延长到了6到8周。在冠状病毒大流行之前，产品工期是2到3周。他指出，他的公司将在两周内完全用尽其酒精。

 

The shortage of normal ingredients for sanitizers has led to searches for substitute ingredients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently eased its rules to let manufacturers use ethanol alcohol for hand sanitizers during the shortage. The health crisis has sent the prices of ethanol sharply lower, hurting U.S. farmers and ethanol industries that make alcohol from corn. The new FDA rule could help both farmers and ethanol producers.

 

消毒剂常规成分的短缺致使人们寻找其它替代成分。美国食品药品监督管理局最近放宽了规定，允许制造商在短缺期间采用乙醇酒精生产洗手液。这场疫情危机导致乙醇价格急剧下降，损害了美国农民和使用玉米为原料制造乙醇的相关行业。美国食品药品监督管理局的新规定将有助于农民和乙醇生产商。

 

Some distilleries have turned to producing sanitizers from their own alcohol to help fight the shortage. One whisky distillery in Atlanta, Georgia, said it is giving away free hand sanitizers at its factory.

 

一些酿酒厂已经转而使用自有酒精生产消毒剂来帮助解决消毒剂短缺的问题。佐治亚州亚特兰大市一家威士忌酒厂表示，它将在其工厂免费赠送洗手液。

 

Some people are creating their own sanitizers with oils or lemons, but there is no evidence they work.

 

有些人使用油或柠檬自制消毒剂，但没有证据表明它们的有效性。

 

Experts advise against homemade sanitizers, saying these products could be harmful or useless. A real sanitizer should have at least 60 percent alcohol, they note.

 

专家建议不要使用自制的消毒剂，并称这些产品可能会有害或是无效的。他们指出，真正的消毒剂至少应该含有60%的酒精。

 

The shortage of cleaning products has led many sellers to advertise wipes, sanitizers, air purifiers and other products online. Security experts have advised people to avoid buying them since many are useless or will never arrive.

 

清洁产品的短缺导致许多卖家在网上做广告推销湿巾、消毒剂、空气净化器和其它产品。安全防护专家建议人们不要购买这些产品，因为其中大多数都没什么用或根本无法配送到家。

 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the best advice: Wash your hands with soap and hot water as often as possible.

 

美国疾病控制与预防中心提供了最佳建议：尽可能多的使用肥皂和热水洗手。

 

I’m Pete Musto.

 

皮特·姆斯托报道。

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