Germicidal UVC Lamps: Prevent Food/Water Poisoning & Death due to Food/Water Bacteria and Parasites

     Whether we all know it or not, we are surrounded by bacteria and parasites (E-Coli, Salmonella, etc).  From the surfaces we touch right down to the food we eat, bacteria are all around us.  To prevent the spread of disease and illness, UVC germicidal lamps are being used in equipment to effectively kill many of the common viruses, bacteria and parasites that we come in contact with on a daily basis. Ultraviolet (UVC) light destroys microorganisms by damaging the DNA structure.  UVC radiation disrupts the chemical bonds that hold strands of DNA together in a microorganism; therefore the organism cannot reproduce and grow --- so it dies!

          When used in a water application, UVC germicidal lamps irradiate the water passing through a vessel which contains a Quartz Sleeve with a UVC germicidal lamp in side.  Water treatment units are designed with flow rates that sterilize water at 1 gallon per minute up to thousands of gallons per minute.  UVC does not alter the pH, odor or color of the water as does the use of chemicals (i.e., chlorine, peroxide, etc.) to purify water so there is no change in the taste of the water.  This water can then be “safely” used in various applications ranging from drinking water to food preparation to the beverage bottling.

          UVC germicidal lamps are also used by numerous food processing companies to kill bacteria throughout the food preparation lines.   Fruits, vegetables and meat are placed on conveyor systems and are UVC irradiated as it is being processed.  Immediately prior to packaging, exposure to UVC has been proven to extend the shelf life of fruits, vegetables meats and breads.  Food processing plants are using UVC germicidal lamps in their HVAC systems to kill air-borne particles that exist in the processing rooms. The equipment used to process the food is also irradiated with germicidal UVC to kill any microorganisms that may exist on the surface.

          So, introducing UVC germicidal lamp technology into your air, water and surface treatment procedures will significantly reduce or totally eliminate virus, bacteria and parasites that are the cause of much illness and even death!

LightSources, together with our affiliated companies, represent the foremost high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  LCD Lighting, our leading affiliate in fluorescent lamps has designed and manufactured thousands of custom fluorescent lamps for virtually every type of OEM lighting application.  Contact us to learn more about our exclusive fluorescent light technology.

The Pros and Cons of using UVC Low Pressure Amalgam Lamps for Municipal Drinking Water Disinfection

Drinking water is the most valuable and scarce resource on the planet.  While water covers 97% of Earth’s surface only 2.5% of the total water is suitable for drinking, with the remainder being salt water.  Clean drinking water is even harder to find and is estimated to be less that one 1% of the total drinkable water.  Untreated water is becoming more and more of a health risk. Experts estimate that more than two million people die every year as a result of drinking untreated unsanitary water.  Ingesting untreated water can result in many types of infections and intestinal illnesses.

Consumption of drinkable water around the world has been estimated to have increased six times over since 1900.  However, during that time the world’s population has approximately only tripled.  The availability of drinking water as a result of this dramatic increase in usage has become one of the most important problems of this century.  Great emphasis is being placed on finding alternative methods of disinfection while preserving the environment; and Ultraviolet (UVC) Amalgam Lamp disinfection is leading the way.  UVC germicidal light offers an environmentally friendly way of disinfecting water while managing to be much more cost effective than the equivalent ozone disinfection and/or membrane filtration methods.  The use of UVC germicidal light compares favorably with other water disinfection methods (i.e., chemical, reverse osmosis, MPUV, etc.) in terms of cost of labor and the need for technically trained personnel for operation.

Using ultraviolet (UVC) light for drinking water disinfection purposes isn’t new, in fact it was first used for treating drinking water in the USA back in 1916.  While germicidal UVC can not replace chemical disinfection entirely for non-point-of-use Municipal Drinking Water Disinfection purposes, it does allow for a significant reduction of supplemental chemicals.  Unlike chemical treatments UVC being a physical treatment process leaves no disinfection residual in the water once it has passed the irradiated area, thus offering no protection in the municipal water pipes, where water can spend days before consumption.  As a result in Municipal Drinking Water applications Amalgam lamps are used in a multi-barrier approach ensuring complete inactivation of waterborne pathogens resistant to chemical treatments such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia and viruses, much like ozone and filtration methods are used.  The benefits of using UVC Light over competing technologies for water disinfection are many.  UVC has no effect on the taste, on smell or pH value of the water which plagues the other competing technologies. 

Amalgam lamps are particularly well suited for Municipal Drinking Water Type applications.  Amalgam lamps produce significantly higher UVC output than conventional standard (425mA) or high output (800mA) low pressure germicidal lamps thus offering more than triple the efficiency and life over competing Medium Pressure Ultraviolet (MPUV) lamp varieties and at significant lower overall cost. 

LightSources, together with our affiliated companies, represent the foremost high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  LCD Lighting, our leading affiliate in fluorescent lamps has designed and manufactured thousands of custom fluorescent lamps for virtually every type of OEM lighting application.  Contact us to learn more about our exclusive fluorescent light technology.

Tips on How Germicidal UVC Lamps can Dramatically Reduce Medical Malpractice Lawsuits and Save Lives

One fast growing sector that incorporates the use of UVC germicidal lamps is the medical industry.  The medical sector utilizes ultraviolet light to sterilize rooms, equipment, HVAC systems and medical instruments.  Because the disinfection and sterilization process of UVC eliminates the need for chemicals, it is considered environmentally friendly.  Furthermore, by taking advantage of UVC germicidal lights’ features, the spread of disease and infection (i.e., MRSA, Staph, etc.) is kept under control.  Research has shown the application of UVC germicidal light in a medical setting to be more effective in reducing the setting’s microbial and pathogen content as opposed to standard manual cleaning practices.  There are no disinfection by-products (DBPs) left over as there would be when using powerful chemical cleansers.  In addition, time and money is saved with UV application in place of repetitive manual cleaning.      

In American hospitals, approximately 1 in 20 patients will contract a healthcare-associated infection (HAI); a 5% rate.  However, upon the application of UVC germicidal lights, this statistic has been reduced by a whopping 82 percent!  This decrease translates too many more people leaving the hospital safer and with better outcomes.  There are hospitals that have reported the rates of HAI around 1% following the application of UVC lights.  This trend has a direct correlation to the reduction in malpractice suits as well as saving lives. 

The cost of malpractice insurance has been on the rise in recent years.  Malpractice insurance can be the result of a number of doctor and/or hospital errors including but not limited to; delayed diagnosis, missed diagnosis, medication errors, birth injuries, and illness caused by contaminated air, surfaces and/or medical instruments.  Upon applying UVC germicidal light to the medical environment, instances of un-sterile and infected rooms and instruments have been greatly reduced, which in turn, has reduced the number of lawsuits associated with injured patients.  Some patients are already in a very fragile state due to illness or injury.  Hence, it has become essential for the all hospitals to do anything and everything in their control to reduce any and all risks associated with HAI. 

So, in summary, the simple act of using proper germicidal UVC sterilization and disinfection techniques will greatly reduced the presence of germs and the spread of disease, all the while, keeping costly malpractice suits at a minimum; and most importantly, saving lives!

LightSources, together with our affiliated companies, represent the foremost high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  LCD Lighting, our leading affiliate in fluorescent lamps has designed and manufactured thousands of custom fluorescent lamps for virtually every type of OEM lighting application.  Contact us to learn more about our exclusive fluorescent light technology.

Why Germicidal UVC Technology is Superior to Chlorine for Waste Water Treatment Disinfection

Ultraviolet (UVC) Light Technology has many advantages when it comes to Waste Water Treatment.  The receptivity to this technology has been relatively low over the years as Chlorine disinfection (Chlorination) technology had been the established treatment method.

Chlorine disinfection is currently the most common form of waste water disinfection used in North America and [is mostly due to its low initial cost and its long-term history of effectiveness. Its greatest disadvantage is that the chlorination of residual organic material can generate chlorinated-organic compounds that may be carcinogenic or harmful to the environment. Residual chlorine or chloramines may also be capable of chlorinating organic material in the natural aquatic environment. Further, because residual chlorine is toxic to aquatic species, the treated effluent must also be chemically dechlorinated, before releasing into the environment.  This extra step adds to the complexity and cost of this type of treatment.  Chlorine disinfection also requires a larger footprint than UVC disinfection units, while requiring more maintenance.

UVC disinfection on the other had is an up and coming Waste Water Treatment process.  It is a non chemical rather physical process that instantaneously neutralizes microorganisms as they pass by ultraviolet lamps submerged in the effluent. The process adds nothing to the water but UVC light, and therefore, has no impact on the chemical composition or the dissolved oxygen content of the water.  Currently UVC Light Technology is the only cost-effective disinfection alternative that does not have the potential to create or release carcinogenic by-products into the environment. In addition, UVC is an effective disinfectant for chlorine resistant protozoa like Cryptosporidium and Giardia.  As a plus UVC disinfection units typically cost less to maintain.

Due to its many advantages the adoption of UVC Light for wastewater disinfection has grown significantly over the past few decades. Aging infrastructure in North America, Europe and Australia currently, is aiding the growth of this technology as more and more Municipalities choose UVC disinfection over Chlorine disinfection.  In newly emerging markets such as in Asia, UVC disinfection is the most often chosen method of disinfection in the many plants being constructed or being planned.  UVC in general is a more environmentally friendly “greener” solution.  Today over twenty percent of wastewater treatment plants in North America employ this environmentally-friendly technology.

LightSources, together with our affiliated companies, represent the foremost high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  LCD Lighting, our leading affiliate in fluorescent lamps has designed and manufactured thousands of custom fluorescent lamps for virtually every type of OEM lighting application.  Contact us to learn more about our exclusive fluorescent light technology.

Facts on How to Design and Apply Ultraviolet Germicidal Lamps for Air Disinfection in Public Places

The germicidal “killing” effect of 253.7nm radiation on bacteria has been well documented over the past 75 years.  Most bacteria and virus cells being small in size are capable of airborne transmission from host to host. One of the inherent dangers with this airborne transfer is that the original host can release the bacteria or virus molecules through respiration, sneezing, coughing etc. and the pathogen remains in the room long after the original host departs. This can lead to the infection of many people by a single individual host if the air in a commonly used room or area is contaminated with airborne bacteria or viruses.  Common areas of concern include: physician and hospital waiting rooms, examining rooms, public/private schools and universities, prisons, holding areas (in the case of detention and processing centers), treatment rooms, dog kennels, and anywhere else where people or animals congregate.

Since Germicidal UVC works as a line of sight process, direct exposure/contact of the pathogen to the UVC has to be achieved.  This is much less difficult to accomplish in a room than one may think. Fixtures that project the UVC up toward the ceiling or at a vertical angle can be mounted to the wall. The proper mounting would be to aim upward, irradiating the ceiling area. Fixtures have to be mounted above eye level (7½ feet or more) to avoid exposure of the eyes to the harmful UVC rays. The natural air movement by convection will bring contaminated air from below the fixtures, upward towards the ceiling where the air is irradiated by the UVC and disinfected.   This air then continues the cycle, mixing with the untreated air, reducing the concentration of pathogens. The “mixed” air continues the cycle, becoming further UVC exposed and thus reducing the amount of pathogen contamination. In rooms that have better ventilation and/or frequent air exchanges (4+ times per hour) the germicidal “killing” effect is accelerated by the increased air turbulence.

Room air disinfection by this upper air convection process is a very efficient and effective method of disinfecting the air in common spaces. The fixtures required are relatively simple and low cost. The lamps used have an effective life of more that one year (1 year plus).  Once the UVC destroys the pathogen there is no harmful residue left behind as opposed to filtration. In the case of filtration, the filter medium becomes a holding and breeding ground for bacteria. Filters must be frequently replaced and disposed of thus putting the worker at risk of infection.

LightSources, together with our affiliated companies, represent the foremost high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  LCD Lighting, our leading affiliate in fluorescent lamps has designed and manufactured thousands of custom fluorescent lamps for virtually every type of OEM lighting application.  Contact us to learn more about our exclusive fluorescent light technology.

OZONE (185nm) Low Pressure Quartz Ultraviolet (UVV) Lamp Facts: Applications and Optimizing Output

Ozone (185nm) is a colorless gas that is used when disinfection, reduction of total organic compounds (TOC’s), bleaching and/or odor abatement is required.  It can be used directly in air or indirectly, such as, infusion into water.  Here are just some of the applications in you’ll find Ozone being used for:

· Pool and Spa maintenance

· TOC Reduction in Semi Conductor processing

· Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) / Odor abatement

· HVAC air disinfection in buildings

· Air “Sanitizers”

· Aqua Culture (Fish Farming, Aquariums, Hydroponics)

· Livestock processing and waste

· Food and Beverage processing

Ozone producing lamps are manufactured using pure quartz, which transmits the 185nm ozone wavelength found in a low-pressure mercury arc lamp. The lamp’s current, mercury vapor pressure, argon pressure and ambient operating temperature/humidity determine the optimum output of the lamp.  It’s necessary to operate the lamp within the optimum combination of these parameters for the best of 185nm radiation output, which is primarily responsible for ozone generation.

In the formation of ozone, the oxygen molecules (O₂) become disassociated and combine to form ozone (O₃).  At low humidity, about 50% of the 185nm radiation is absorbed by the oxygen present in the air at a distance of 5 inches.  At higher levels of humidity, some of the 185nm radiation is absorbed by the moisture, reducing the amount of ozone produced.  The equipment chamber design is equally important.  If the lamp is centered in a chamber having a diameter less than 10 inches, the chamber wall, and not the oxygen of the air around the lamp body, will absorb the 185nm radiation. If the lamp is centered in a larger diameter chamber, then more 185nm radiation will be absorbed by the greater volume of oxygen in the air around the lamp situated in the center of the chamber resulting in more ozone!

Airflow through the lamp chamber must also be considered because if the ozone (185nm) is not removed rapidly from the container, the 254nm radiation which is also generated by the germicidal lamp will cause the generated ozone to decompose.  Therefore, a sufficient air velocity through the chamber will minimize the decomposition of ozone by the 254nm radiation.  At lower velocities the concentration of ozone at the exit of the container will be greater; however, the total amount of ozone in a given area will be less.

Ozone production from low pressure germicidal lamps can be optimized.  Ozone not only instantly kills all bacteria and viruses, but also kills algae and fungi which are resistant to chlorine. It imparts no taste to water, but actually removes taste and odor. Ozone treated water does not develop slime which is a problem in swimming pools and water cooling towers.  Ozone reverts back to oxygen quite readily due to heat.

LightSources, together with our affiliated companies, represent the foremost high-tech designers and manufacturers in the lamp industry today.  LCD Lighting, our leading affiliate in fluorescent lamps has designed and manufactured thousands of custom fluorescent lamps for virtually every type of OEM lighting application.  Contact us to learn more about our exclusive fluorescent light technology.