Within an hour of contact with brass, human sweat can produce corrosion that negatively impacts its ability to kill a range of microorganisms.
While it is known that sweat corrodes brass, this study is the first to quantitatively analyze the corrosion of copper alloys in the first few hours after contact, according to John Bond, OBE, from the University of Leicester’s Department of Chemistry.
“My short term advice is to keep the brass in public environments free from corrosion through regular and thorough cleaning. In the longer term, using copper alloys with corrosion inhibitors included in the alloy would be a good choice,” Dr. Bond said. “Anywhere that needs to prevent the spread of bacteria, such as public buildings, schools and hospitals, should be looking at using copper alloy on everyday items to help in avoiding the spread of disease.”
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