Concord Sheet Metal Products Inc. of Concord, Calif., is touting the health benefits of copper.

According to some medical experts, it is estimated that 80 percent of infections are spread by touching a contaminated surface. With this in mind, the company said copper surfaces have been proven to kill 99.9 percent of many harmful organisms.

In the United Kingdom, 300,000 hospital patients annually acquire an infection simply from being in the hospital.  A hospital in Ireland has taken progressive steps to stop the spread of infections by using copper on all touchable surfaces. Concord Sheet Metal Products has article about the hospital project at its Web site,www.concordsheetmetal.com/blog. At the bottom of the blog is a link to the article.

Officials with Concord Sheet Metal say hospitals, schools and other public buildings should replace old fixtures with those containing germ-fighting copper. This can include counter tops, door handles, faucet handles, light switches and more.