What is the ruling on using alcohol to sanitize hands at work?

If purifying the hands with alcohol means sterilizing or cleaning them of chemical substances, and not removing an adhering impurity, then there is no harm in using alcohol for that, even if the alcohol itself is inherently impure (najis al-'ayn), because touching impurities on the outer body for a need is permissible according to some jurists. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah clarified that it is permissible to treat oneself by applying impurities and then washing them off, for a need, citing the permissibility of istinja' (washing after defecation/urination) and removing impurities with the hand.