Facts about UV, Ultraviolet Light in Industry and Precautions for Indoor Tanning Prolonged Exposure

UV or Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light (visible light transmits in the 400 – 780nm range) but longer than X-rays (X-ray is in the range 0.1 to 10nm range).  The entire UV spectral region is defined from 10 to 400nm.  The name itself signifies that energy in this region of the spectrum is transmitted at frequencies higher than our human eyes can see and the visible light portion that is emitted is the color violet, hence, ultraviolet.

Like many other things that exist in our world, it is often the silent, invisible and odorless “things” that can be an excellent force for good, but if misapplied, like with Indoor Tanning Prolonged Exposure, can be rather dangerous.  So, although ultraviolet light or ultraviolet radiation is invisible to the human eye, precautions must be taken to handle and apply as directed.  Most of us are aware of the effects of certain wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation UV-A (320-400nm) and UV-B (280-320nm) through the common summer phenomena of sunburn.  While the symptoms of sunburn are generally short-term, direct exposure of the human skin and human eyes to certain regions of the UV spectrum, such as the UVC region (100-280nm range), can be quite damaging to human tissue.

Much has been written about the use of ultraviolet light in industry and ultraviolet radiation in a variety of applications.  In the world of indoor/sunbed tanning, indoor tanning prolonged exposure to UV-A and UV-B radiation generated by the lamp source stimulate the production of melanin (resulting in a long-lasting suntan) and vitamin D (maintains our calcium metabolism).  Ultraviolet light in industry, specifically UV-C radiation (100 – 280nm), is becoming an ever-expanding resource in the air and water disinfection markets.  Everything from HVAC air ducts, drinking water, wastewater, ultra-pure process water, TOC reduction, curing of UV activated inks, etc. utilize UVC radiation to solve a real need or problem. Moreover, and now UV-C is even used during the transport of produce in sealed containers to keep it fresh longer.

In addition to the few examples above, many other applications utilize the great potential of ultraviolet radiation such as optical sensors and instrumentation (230-400nm), bar-coding and label tracking (120-365nm), forensic analysis and drug detection (250-30nm), protein analysis and DNA sequencing (270-300nm), medical imaging (280-400nm), curing of polymers and inks (300-365nm) and light therapy (300-365nm).  Even those infamous backyard bug-zappers that we use in the summertime utilize UV to attract insects (350-370nm) so they can be exterminated.

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