The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recently released a report to combat the seemingly conflicting statements and opinions about the disinfection capabilities and safety of germicidal ultraviolet (GUV). The report is by IES’s Photobiology Committee and explains GUV disinfection and its potential to safely reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The authors of the report answer frequently asked questions about GUV and draw on expertise from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Harvard Medical School, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and germicidal UV manufacturing and research organizations.
Written to help protect healthcare works and patients, the free download is available on the IES website, with an accompanying tutorial explaining the technology, its application, and safety considerations.
Germicidal UV can successfully and safely be deployed to disinfect air in occupied hospital spaces such as waiting rooms, intensive care units, and operating rooms. In unoccupied controlled-access environments, GUV can be used as a supplemental measure to disinfect room surfaces and reduce the spread of healthcare-associated infections. Germicidal UV is also being used to disinfect some personal protective equipment (PPE) for limited reuse during the pandemic. The FAQs emphasize the need for GUV to be applied correctly and monitored for output and safety, as well as the importance of training on the operation and maintenance of the systems over time. The IES report addresses these topics and recognizes that additional GUV technologies are in development, including efficacy and safety testing.
The report also cautions that ultraviolet disinfecting “wands” or other ultraviolet products for residential use — as they are unproven and unregulated — may pose a safety hazard and are unlikely to provide the protection expected.
