Copper market’s biggest whale fuels speculation of a major shift
The world’s single biggest buyer of copper, State Grid Corp. of China, has slowed its purchases of copper wire this year.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), Teck Resources and VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation are partnering to study how antimicrobial copper can be used to prevent infections and improve health outcomes in three long-term care homes across the VCH region. Funded by Teck, it will be the first study of its size in Canada.
Teck has provided C$750,000 in funding through its Copper & Health program for the research study that includes the installation of more than 600 antimicrobial copper products on high-touch surfaces including door handles, cabinet pulls, faucet handles, flush levers, fridge handles and grab bars in shared spaces at Minoru Residence in Richmond, Berkley Care Centre in North Vancouver and Purdy Pavilion in Vancouver.
The study will incorporate measures including microbial load and durability of the copper installations, resident health care acquired illness rates as well as perceptions of staff, residents and their families. It will build on previous research conducted by VCH in multiple hospital settings as well as on transit vehicles which showed that antimicrobial copper alloy surfaces eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria in less than two hours of contact. This study will be using Health Canada-registered antimicrobial copper fixtures and surfaces.
“We are proud to be participating in this leading research project to demonstrate how antimicrobial copper can reduce the risk of healthcare-acquired infections and help protect some of the most vulnerable individuals in our health care system,” Teck CEO Jonathan Price said in a media statement.
Antimicrobial copper kills infection-causing bacteria. When combined with other infection prevention and control methods, like cleaning surfaces and other engineered solutions, antimicrobial copper can decrease the spread of infectious disease, reduce hospitalization, decrease readmission rates and lower residents’ illnesses and deaths.
