Getting through the airport and onto the plane is enough to try anyone’s patience and sanity; for most people the focus is on staying calm, emptying pockets, getting through.
But the people who worry about walking barefoot on airport floors now have another sanitation worry to think about: Is my bin clean? Whose shoes were in it before? The new thought comes to mind because a Virginia company and an Ohio hospital have joined to install sanitizing mats in airport bins at Akron-Canton Airport.
Western Reserve Hospital is supplying the airport with mats and bin grips from NanoTouch Materials at the airport. NanoTouch is a high-tech health products supplier to hospitals, schools and industry. This is their first step into flying.
The skins are applied like stickers to the checkpoint bins’ handles, and the 1/16-inch-thick, self-cleaning mats cover the bottoms of the bins. They contain nano-crystals that create a self-cleaning oxidation reaction said to be stronger than bleach, continuously breaking down organic contaminants.
So, if you weren’t worried about that bin before, now you know. And if it really worries you…start your flight in Akron!
Is anyone surprised that airports are a health hazard? How about those rubber gloves all the security people wear for protection – protecting themselves from us and passing it all along with every touch to our passports, our belongings and (save me!) a pat-down. And PHeymont felt duty-bound to remind us. The only thing worse is not going.
I think I’d rather have rubber globes patting me down than someone’s sweaty hands! But your point is well taken. The intrusion of airport security into our privacy is truly shameful.