UV News

UV News Note: These UV news items have been gleaned from the Internet. The UV news are partially reproduced as found. AAW takes no responsibility for their accuracy. The links to the full UV articles were active at the time of posting.

UV News

January 2019: kathy ireland® Discusses The Future of Light with American Air & Water

Los Angeles, CA - January 15, 2019 - Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® is pleased to announce an exclusive interview with Warren Lynn, CEO of American Air & Water to discuss their custom built UV systems.

Founded in 2002, the company designs and delivers ultraviolet solutions through germicidal UVC systems for disinfection of air, surfaces, water and liquid sugar. They are used by industrial, commercial, municipal and residential customers to control the spread of germs while improving energy efficiency.

"Our business for the last 20 years has been all about air, water, surfaces and food processes," says Lynn. "It's all about light and what's under the sun. We've developed a new process of light that helps us take care of the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat. This opens up opportunities for businesses, especially a disruptive business in the healthcare industry."

Different colors can affect our mood. The importance of light changes by the day. American Air & Water is working to improve the future of farming with smart light technology.

"Making sure we have the resources to protect our way of life is key," says J.L. Haber, Vice President of Programming for Worldwide Business. "American Air & Water is showing us all how to do it right."

For more information about American Air & Water, visit Americanairandwater.com and tune in to Fox Business Network as sponsored content on Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 5:30pm EST and Bloomberg International on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 7:00pm GMT and Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 10:00am D.F. and 2:30pm HKT.

About Worldwide Business with kathy ireland®

Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® is a weekly half-hour show featuring global executives sharing their business insights and framing the opportunities shaping their industries. Hosted by a business mogul, Kathy Ireland interviews some of the brightest minds in business today. The show broadcasts on Fox Business Network as part of their sponsored content line up and globally on Bloomberg International. Worldwide Business with kathy ireland® extends beyond the weekly on-air program with digital content delivered on various video platforms and across social media.

Visit www.tvwwb.com for detailed airing schedules or check local listings.

Tune in to Bloomberg International on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 7:00pm GMT and Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 10:00am and Fox Business Network on Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 5:30pm EST

June 2017: Ultraviolet Light Means Efficiency, Cost Savings In Kansas
By Sara Jerome / Water Online

Wastewater operators at a facility in Kansas recently found that the route to greater efficiency traveled through their disinfection system. Electricity costs at the plant have been cut in half following upgrades, officials say.

Wichita’s Lower Arkansas River wastewater treatment plant “has seen significant cost savings since upgrading its ultraviolet disinfection system last year, its supervisor says. The plant is now able to treat more wastewater, which is then released into the Arkansas River,” KMUW reported.

The plant upgraded from a medium ultraviolet treatment system to a high-intensity, low-pressure system last year, the report said.

Jamie Belden, operation supervisor for the City of Wichita's sewage treatment division, explained the new system: “He said the ultraviolet light doesn’t kill bacteria, but it alters the DNA so bacteria can’t reproduce. He says the new system needs less maintenance, and workers are able to treat 80 million gallons of water per day instead of 60 million,” KMUW reported.

Belden said: "By putting that system in, not only are we able to disinfect more wastewater, but over about a two-year period, we’ll recover our investment completely just in energy cost.”

Advocates of ultraviolet disinfection stress the advantages of reducing the use of chemicals, including chlorine, a disinfectant, and sulfur dioxide, which removes chlorine, according to MLive. Jackson, MI, for instance, approved a deal to use UV light disinfection at the plant last year, the report said.

The city made a deal with Wade Trim to design the system for $210,000.

The city expects power bills to go up but chemical costs to plummet, the report said. The city expects to save $100,000 on chemicals and to save money overall. The full project is expected to cost between $1.3 and $1.5 million.

"The use of an ultraviolet disinfection system would eliminate the use of (chlorine and sulfur dioxide) in the process. I thought it was time for us to take a look at it and see if it's appropriate for our system,” said Todd Knepper, director of public works said, per the report.

Chlorine is sometimes criticized for posing safety hazards, but many water industry professionals defend its use. The Water Quality and Health Council, sponsored by the American Chemistry Council, points out that chlorine disinfection revolutionized drinking water treatment. The group notes that chlorine is a potent germicide and treats taste, odor, biological growth, and chemicals.

Note 1: Image credit: "electricity," Stanislav Sedov © 2016, used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

June 2015: UV Light Cuts Spread Of Tuberculosiss
By Imperial College London / ScienceDaily

Ultraviolet lights could reduce the spread of tuberculosis in hospital wards and waiting rooms by 70%, according to a study, published in PLoS Medicine. The study, which explored the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) from infected patients to guinea pigs, suggests that installing simple ultraviolet C (UVC) lights in hospitals could help reduce the transmission of TB, including drug-resistant strains.

Every year, over nine million people are infected with tuberculosis and nearly two million people die from the disease, according to the World Health Organisation. Infection rates are particularly high in places where vulnerable people are crowded together, such as hospitals, homeless shelters and prisons.

When a tuberculosis patient coughs, bacteria are sprayed into the air in tiny droplets, floating around the room and infecting other patients, visitors and healthcare staff. These bacteria can be killed by hanging a shielded UVC light from the ceiling with a fan to mix the air, say the researchers, from Imperial College London, the University of Leeds, Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Perú and other international institutions.

UVC light kills tuberculosis bacteria, including drug-resistant strains, by damaging their DNA so they cannot infect people, grow or divide. It is already used at high intensity to disinfect empty ambulances and operating theatres.

Dr Rod Escombe, the study's principal investigator from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine at Imperial College London, said: "When people are crowded together in a hospital waiting room, it may take just one cough to infect several vulnerable patients. Our previous research showed that opening windows in a room is a simple way to reduce the risk of tuberculosis transmission, but this is climate-dependent – you can't open the windows in the intensive care ward of a Siberian hospital for example."

"Thankfully, the rate of tuberculosis infection in countries like the UK is relatively low and people who are infected can be treated using antibiotics, which are readily available here. People are more likely to die from the disease in developing countries like Perú, because there are limited resources for isolating patients, diagnosing them quickly and starting effective treatment. Also, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is much higher in the developing world. Preventing infection is much easier and cheaper than treating a patient with tuberculosis," added Dr Escombe.

Plans are already underway to install upper room UV lights in the chest clinic at St Mary's Hospital, part of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which will be the first hospital to have them in the UK.

Introducing UVC lights could be a relatively low-cost measure, say the researchers. Currently, a typical UVC ceiling light costs around US$350 and replacement bulbs cost from US$25. The researchers are now working to develop more affordable US$100 units.

The impact of UV lights is greatest when combined with careful management of the air flow on the wards, as Dr Cath Noakes from the University of Leeds' Faculty of Engineering explains: "The lights must be set high enough to ensure patients and health workers are not overexposed, but if the lights only treat air at that level, there will be little benefit. To be most effective, ventilation systems need to create a constant flow of treated air down to patient level, and potentially infected air up towards the lights."

To reach their conclusions, scientists hung UVC lights in a hospital ward in Lima, Perú where 69 patients with HIV and TB were being treated. The researchers pumped air from the ward up to a guinea pig enclosure on the roof of the hospital for 535 consecutive days. The guinea pigs were split into three groups of approximately 150: the first group received air exposed to the UV lights in the ward, the second group received ward air treated with negative ionisers, and the third control group was given untreated air straight from the ward. The guinea pigs were given skin tests for tuberculosis once a month.

By the end of the experiment, 35% of the control group were infected with TB, compared to 14% of the ionised air group and 9.5% of the UVC group. 8.6% of the control group developed the active form of the disease after being infected with TB, compared to 4.3% of the ionised air group and 3.6% of the UVC group.

May 2015: IAQ - Increase Airflow with Duct Maintenance
By Thomas A. Westerkamp

To increase airflow, technicians can start by cleaning air ducts. Build-up of dust and other particulates can cause turbulence, which reduces air volume. This activity provides a benefit beyond limiting turbulence. It also eliminates a source of pollution - the reintroduction of particulates into the air when they break off the duct walls.

If ducts contain moisture, technicians can get rid of hidden mold by cleaning the ducts with electric brushes and vacuuming the residue. Adding ultraviolet lights to the area in which water forms in the duct can eliminate the mold problem.

Finally, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can resist most particulates, but technicians will have to make sure an adequate volume of air flows through the filters.

19 March 2015: Stop TB Partnership initiative reveals surprising results - 1 in 9 staff tested positive for latent TB infection
Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary, Stop TB Partnership

Dear colleagues, partners and stakeholders,

Last week we shared worldwide the fact that 47 colleagues working at the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat, UNOPS, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria took an Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA test)* to determine if the person is infected with latent TB.

It was an effort to show globally that it is important for everyone to know what is happening with their bodies -- to show that people infected with TB are everywhere and to show that there should be no stigma associated with the TB infection. It was also a very good opportunity for us to review the literature, guidelines, to have discussions and counseling about the testing for TB infection and the role of TB prevention. It generated a lot of interest and opportunities for people to discuss TB, the infection and the active disease.

We are now in a position to share the results of our test: out of the 47 people tested, 5 were positive for latent TB infection, and the rest of the tests came back negative. The 5 positive colleagues - 3 women and 2 men - consist of 3 who are from high burden countries (2 from Africa and 1 from Asia), 1 from Western Europe and the last from North America. While some of the colleagues with positive results were aware and expecting the result, it came as a surprise for the colleagues from Western Europe and North America as none of them had lived in any of the high burden countries, having only visited occasionally.

I discussed the results individually with each of the positive colleagues and advised on next steps. If anything, this test showed a high infection rate in a group of professionals based in Geneva (1 in 9). This was certainly not intended as an epidemiological survey or as a medical screening exercise. It demonstrated how little we understand the TB infection, the body's reaction and the TB disease. Nevertheless, the process and the results we obtained have got us thinking on the role that TB infection screening and TB prevention shall play in the present and future of TB control. More importantly, we realized that testing for infection and assessing the need for TB prevention goes beyond TB control measures, but that it becomes an individual choice and right to knowledge of risk.

With this initiative, we at the Stop TB Partnership Secretariat stepped in uncharted territory. We were not aiming at providing answers but rather at eliciting questions. How can we advance research including basic research to understand more and develop new tools? How do we ensure that knowledge and access to TB prevention, diagnostics and treatment becomes an individual right regardless of economic barriers, access to testing and treatment? And how do we balance the need for cost effective population measures with the individual right to knowledge of his/her TB risk, infection and disease? These are crucial questions if we truly want the End TB Strategy to be a successful one and we will address some of them in the new Global Plan to Stop TB 2016-2020.

I take this opportunity to give a heads-up on a great White Paper that Stop TB USA have developed and will be launching on World TB Day. The paper calls for a more robust national response focusing on diagnosing and treating TB infection in order to prevent future cases of TB and to stop its transmission.
 
With best regards,

Dr Lucica Ditiu
Executive Secretary
Stop TB Partnership

HPAC News: Ultraviolet (UV-C) Energy and the Persistence of Building Performance
By FORREST FENCL

UV-C lighting maintains the cleanliness of wet HVAC components; minimizes, if not eliminates, the use of chemicals; and keeps energy and water use in check.

Getting everything in a building to work to the designer’s intent and in accordance with the owner’s project requirements is one thing. Maintaining that level of performance is another.

Among the keys to the persistence of HVAC performance is the cleanliness of cooling coils, drain pans, and other “wet” components. When mold, biofilm, and other organic compounds are allowed to build up:


 • Indoor air experiences odors and the spread of respiratory irritants, pathogens, and allergens.
 • Airflow through coils becomes restricted and fouled (lost heat transfer), deteriorating comfort and energy performance.
 • Equipment and material life is shortened, and maintenance requirements increase.
Any of these outcomes threatens the “three Es” of a building’s—a green one’s in particular—bottom line: energy, efficiency, and economy.

One technology that meets the challenges of regular cleaning of wet HVAC components, as well as minimizing, if not eliminating, the use of chemicals and keeping energy and water use in check, is ultraviolet-C (UV-C) lighting.

ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Applications suggests UV-C reduces mold and biofilm, coil pressure drop, and coil-cleaning functions without the use of chemicals. Further, it states use of UV-C can increase airflow and heat-transfer coefficient and reduce both fan- and refrigeration-system energy use. Savings of 10 to 30 percent have been reported once capacity is restored.

The UV-C wavelength easily keeps a new coil clean and degrades organic materials that have deposited on existing coil fin and tube surfaces. As a result of this cleaning action, a coil’s “open area” remains or returns to the designed performance standards. The pressure drop and velocity of the air between coil fins is optimized, while fin and tube surfaces are kept clean to maximize system heat-exchange efficiency and rate. Many original-equipment manufacturers believe UV-C could contribute to as-built capacity for the life of a system, if the UV-C technology is maintained.

Energy
According to ASHRAE, maintaining design air leaving wet-bulb temperature is fundamental to maintaining occupied spaces in the “comfort zone.” Maintaining this standard of thermal comfort is one of the most important goals of a properly designed and maintained HVAC system (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy). Cooling coils reduce the absolute humidity of the air processed. The below-dew-point coil surface condenses water vapor from the recirculated air to reduce relative humidity in a conditioned space. This drier air of, typically, 40-percent to 60-percent humidity improves comfort in the occupied space. Chapter 60.8 of 2011 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Applications states, “By suppressing the formation of biofilms (and in the worst cases, extensive mold growth) on coils, coil irradiation should reduce airside pressure drop, increase heat transfer coefficient, and reduce both fan and refrigeration system energy consumption.”

Minor increases in air leaving wet-bulb temperature have dramatic effects on system capacity and, thus, energy costs. For example, with a 20,000-cfm system with an air entering wet-bulb temperature of 64°F and an air leaving temperature of 53°F, an increase in air leaving wet-bulb temperature of “only” 1°F results in a loss of air-conditioning capacity of 4.5 tons. Within five to 10 years, increases in air leaving temperature of 3°F are not uncommon.

Often, fan speed is increased to help compensate for lost air-conditioning capacity. However, fan horsepower increases to the “cube” of revolutions per minute. Thus, increasing fan speed consumes more energy than we realize. However, it may be enough to satisfy capacity loss temporarily. If it is not, further modifications are required.

Building engineers typically turn next to chilled-water temperature. Lowering chilled-water temperature increases the temperature differential between air and coil surfaces, increasing heat-transfer rate. The lowering of chilled-water temperature requires an increase in energy use and often is accompanied by the pumping of additional water. Increasing pump revolutions per minute has the same consequences as increasing fan revolutions per minute: a boost in horsepower to the cube of the increase.

All of the above makes an unquestionable case for keeping a coil perfectly clean.

Indoor-Air Quality (IAQ)
UV-C helps to maintain or, in a retrofit, significantly improve IAQ. The application of UV prevents the formation and reduces the dissemination of several categories of organisms that can grow and/or spread in modern air-handling systems. These include pathogens (viruses, bacteria, and fungi, which can cause a range of diseases), allergens (bacteria and mold, which can cause allergic rhinitis, asthma, humidifier fever, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis), and toxins (endotoxins and mycotoxins, which can cause a variety of toxic effects, irritation, and odors). According to both ASHRAE and the U.S. General Services Administration, UV-C energy prevents microbial “growth and transfer” into occupied spaces.

Occupant Comfort
With coils kept perfectly clean, heat-exchange efficiency and rate are maintained at as-designed values. And with microbial growth and transfer prevented, the air serving occupied spaces is not contaminated by products associated with odor-producing biomatter. Both scientific and anecdotal information is abundant in this area. Occupant surveys and comments overwhelmingly side with a clean system.

Chemicals, Drains, and Water
Chapter 60.8 of 2011 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Applications states: “Conventional methods for maintaining air handling system components include chemical and mechanical cleaning which can be costly, difficult to perform, and dangerous to maintenance staff and building occupants. Vapors from cleaning agents can contribute to poor air quality, chemical run off contributes to ground water contamination and mechanical cleaning can reduce component life. Furthermore, the system’s performance can begin to degrade again shortly after cleaning as microbial deposits reappear or reactivate.” The results and concerns here are not always obvious. Coil cleaning does not get the coil perfectly clean, regardless of the amount of water used. Contaminants return and, each time, additional organic material is left behind. Additionally, coil-cleaning chemicals contaminate drain waterways and air streams, which are not consistent with the green-building theme, or acceptable IAQ.

Maintenance
The use of UV-C in HVACR equipment has been shown to reduce maintenance and associated costs. According to Chapter 60.8 of 2011 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Applications, “Potential advantages of UV-C surface treatment includes keeping surfaces clean ‘continuously ’rather than periodically, restoring fouled surfaces, with no use of chemicals, and lower maintenance cost and, potentially, better HVAC system performance.”

Conclusion
Of all of the complex matters owners and operators of buildings face, keeping coils and drain pans clean need not be one of them.

June 20, 2014: The UV Uprising: How UV Disinfection Will Claw Its Way To Prominence
Wateronline.com by Sheldon Primus, MPA, COSS

Chlorination in all of its forms — gas, liquid, or solid — has been the primary way for treatment plants to disinfect the treated wastewater. The treatment plants that use gas chlorination must face federal regulatory oversight in the form of a Risk Management Program (RMP). Liquid chlorine plants trade in the regulatory oversight for a more expensive and less effective product. While chlorine in its solid form is good for small treatment facilities known as package plants (named for their mobility). However, ultraviolet (UV) technology is rapidly altering the landscape of disinfection throughout the industry.

Why UV Disinfection?
Though chlorine is widely accepted as a primary disinfection for more than a century, the limitation of chlorine disinfection is increasingly intolerable. The National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC) at West Virginia University (WVU) released a fact sheet on chlorine disinfection that outlines the disadvantages of chlorine as:
   • Chlorine residual is toxic to aquatic life and may require dechlorination.
   • All forms of chlorine are highly corrosive and toxic, making handling, storage, and shipping a safety threat.
   • Chlorine oxidizes organic matter that can sometimes create harmful compounds to humans and the environment.
   • Chlorine content in wastewater is increased.
   • There are chlorine-resistant organisms in treated effluent.

Even small doses of chlorine are toxic to aquatic life, and there are no long-term studies of the effect of dechlorinated effluents to the ecology. Reuse applications, where the treated wastewater effluent is used as irrigation or service water, can impact aquatic life with chlorinated effluent. The upstream condition of the treatment plant plays an important role of how much chlorine dosage must be added for disinfection. The chlorine demand increases if the secondary effluent is nutrient-rich with ammonia or nitrites, leading to more chlorine usage to get the same level of disinfection.

The alternative disinfection system is UV irradiation, which is considered one of the three mature methods of disinfection along with chlorine and ozone. These methods are mature because they have existed for a considerable amount of time. UV use has increased due to its high efficacy against chlorine-resistant protazoae cryptosporidium and giardia and the prevention of toxic chlorine byproducts in aquatic life.

The UV Experience And Growth
The effects of UV disinfection occur when the system transfers electromagnetic energy from a mercury lamp to the genetic material of an organism, i.e. deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). The wavelength (nm) to effectively inactivate microorganisms is between 250 to 270 nm with an ideal lamp temperature between 95 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be accomplished through low-pressure lamps or medium-pressure lamps (for large facilities).

In the early 1900s, UV disinfection was dismissed in favor of chlorine use because of the high operational cost and maintenance problems. However, in recent years UV systems have become cheaper due to technological advancements. The EPA states the total cost of UV disinfection — including power consumption, supplies, and miscellaneous equipment repairs — can be competitive with chlorination when the dechlorination step is included.

In light of these technological advances, UV has been rising in popularity and is clawing its way to challenge chlorination. In a September 2013 article on the growth of UV, market analyst Frost & Sullivan project the global demand for UV systems will raise the market to an expected $2.96 billion. This spike is over several industrial sectors with a dependence on clean water, including medical, power, and food and beverage. In the same article, the author quotes a manufacturer as noting that North America is experiencing about 5-percent growth in the UV disinfection market.

There are non-financial benefits that also account for the growth of UV disinfection, such as disinfection without adding chemicals, no new creations of toxic chemicals such as trihalomethanes (THMs), and no change in taste or odor. Furthermore, there is no RMP needed for facilities that use UV, because there is no regulated chemical in the process. UV systems can easily be retrofitted to existing chlorine contact chambers (CCC). However, the gas chlorine facility must de-register the RMP through the federal EPA system.

IUVA News: Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation in Building Air-Handling Systems: State-of-the-Art

The most recent issue of IUVA News, published by the International Ultraviolet Association, includes an article from Shelly L. Miller and Julia Luongo from the University of Colorado Boulder. The article, titled Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation in Building Air-Handling Systems: State-of-the-Art, discusses the benefits of using germicidal UV in the air conditioning systems to reduce energy consumption and realize energy savings. The authors point out that the buildings are responsible for about 40% of the total energy consumption in the USA with more than half of that going to heating, ventilating and cooling the indoor air.

One of the factors for reduced heat exchange efficiencies and reduced air flows through heating and cooling equipment is the bio-film forming on the heat exchangers. The authors cite research according to which various microorganisms growing inside the air handlers often contribute to building-related diseases in occupants in addition to increased energy consumption.

Even though regular cleaning and maintenance of the air handlers is recommended it is not usually done as often as needed and the chemical disinfectants used to reduce microbial contamination can be dangerous to the service technicians as well as the occupants of the buildings. Some harsh chemicals can also shorten the life of the AC equipment.

The authors assert that there is enough background information and regulatory requirements to justify the use of germicidal ultraviolet technology for keeping the air conditioning systems running at design capacity. This is achieved through reduced bio-fouling and also results in lower maintenance and energy costs and better indoor environment. The portion of the GSA Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings specifying the use of germicidal UV downstream of cooling coils is quoted. It is also shown that deploying germicidal UV systems for cooling coils can count toward LEED credits, specifically in the "Innovation by Design" area.

The article concludes that more experimental research is needed in real buildings as the UVGI technology is increasingly more widely used for energy and maintenance savings and improvement of the indoor environments. Germicidal UV should prove to be an excellent tool for achieving energy savings for many buildings containing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems.

Complete article here: Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation in Building Air-Handling Systems: State-of-the-Art

Water Online, Feb 19, 2014: UV Technology Offers Solution For Emerging Water Crisis
By Jon McClean

The emerging crisis of water shortage is now getting more headlines, and it is noticeable that the political debate now must include measures to cope with the pending emergency. Across the nation, from northern California to southern Florida, communities are at risk of simply running out of water. In January 2014, The California Department of Health produced a list of 17 communities that are within 100 days of running dry. The population of the U.S. has grown by 99% since 1950, and water demand has surged by 127%. So a combination of climate change and demand growth is placing unprecedented demands on potable water, and a recent report by Columbia University cites water stress in many US cities, including Cleveland, OH, Miami, FL, and several Texas cities including Houston and El Paso. Several regions now have in place plans to replace the use of potable water by reclaimed wastewater. Many are turning to UV as an effective barrier to enable the reuse of wastewater, for indirect reuse, and aquifer recharge.

UV has been used since 1917, and it is expected that UV will overtake chlorine as the predominant disinfection method for wastewater within 15 years. UV is a simple, physical and non-intrusive method of rendering organisms non -viable, and thus unable to replicate or cause further nuisance. Many microbes now demonstrate tolerance to chlorine; this should come as little surprise when one considers how mosquitoes have overcome insecticides, how weeds overcome herbicides, or indeed how microbes easily overcome antibiotics. UV light works by blowing apart the DNA, found within all living organisms. When the UV becomes damaged, the normal cell function of respiration, replication and reproduction rapidly cease. It has been noted on a number of occasions that when the microbes are exposed to sunlight, that some repair is observed. This phenomena has led to the older open channel style UV systems being covered, and indeed has promoted the use of closed vessel UV systems that keep the sunlight away and the waste streams completely away from plant operators.

Importance Of Innovation

UV system design has benefitted tremendously from the use of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) models in the last decade. These models allow system manufacturers to understand fully the performance aspects of their equipment, and critically allow the regulatory community to actually understand the impact of ancillary equipment such as butterfly valves, or directional elbows have on the performance of the UV system.

As UV became a standard barrier for the drinking water community, the same rigors is now being applied to UV use for wastewater, or reclaim water.

Once the CFD model has been developed, the model is iteratively refined to improve the accuracy when compared to the actual microbial performance of the UV system. Typically the leading UV manufacturers are now able to make extremely accurate predictions. The wastewater systems are validated, usually by an expert third party such as Carollo Engineers, or HDR HydroQual. The performance envelope for the validation experiment is given much consideration as a typical NWRI (Title 22) system validation can cost well over $ 200,000 per reactor. The largest lamps currently in use in closed vessels are 800watt amalgam lamps. The older medium pressure systems that first appeared for reuse applications are too inefficient, as areas where water reuse is needed it is typically hot and air conditioner units are very popular. This makes water reuse areas not just water stressed, but also power stressed. Many water reuse communities will need to ration power in the hottest months of the year. Amalgam technology will consume approximately 1/3 of the power of a medium pressure unit, so communities who were early adopters are now able to upgrade their older UV systems and see rapid payback due to energy savings.

In the face of unprecedented climate change, and surging water demand we have no alternative other than to examine ways of conserving water. Many traditional uses of water, such as agricultural use, urban irrigation, dust control, enhanced oil recovery (hydraulic fracturing) will all switch, or have already switched from using potable water to using reclaimed water. In many inland communities, the scarcity of available water is leading to the direct reuse of water. The challenge quickly becomes one of communication and ensuring that complex, and emotive issues that pose the professional water community little issue are well explained to a non- technical customer. In reality we have no choice, but let us take the time to explain carefully how well protected we really are, and that we do have an optimistic outlook after all.

IUVA October 24, 2013 - PR: International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) Members Present Awards to UV Innovators at World Congress 2013

The International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) recently held a World Congress with the International Ozone Association in Las Vegas, NV. During the conference, the IUVA made some distinguished awards to UV scientists, engineers, industry leaders and students.

Washington, DC, October 24, 2013 - Members of the IUVA proudly presented awards to UV scientists, engineers, industry leaders and students at the World Congress 2013 in Las Vegas.

The UV Engineering Project Award winner for 2011-2012 is the Catskill-Delaware Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility. The new state-of-the-art facility is owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and was designed by CDM Smith and Hazen and Sawyer, with construction management by Malcolm Pirnie/ ARCADIS and CH2M Hill. The Catskill-Delaware Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility was recognized as an exemplary field application of UV Technology.

The Green Innovations in UV Science and Engineering Award winner is a solar powered UV Water Purifier designed by Naiade, for Nedap Light Controls. The IUVA Green Innovations award recognizes an exemplary product or process improving the Green image of UV applications and is reviewed for its Green design and engineering attributes.

The UV technologies industry has grown over the past decade across the globe and is poised for even more expansion with the introduction of UV LED technology. UV LEDs are small, energy efficient devices that have revolutionized the UV industry. The UV Product Innovation award recognizes novel UV product design and engineering. It was given to UV-Pearl for a UVC LED Water Disinfection Device by Aquionics, Inc.

The UV Research Paper of the Year (2011-2012) was awarded to Olya Keen, Nancy G. Love and Karl G. Linden for, “The role of effluent nitrate in trace organic chemical oxidation during UV disinfection” published in Water Research in 2012. A Classic UV Paper Award went to Jeannie L. Darby, Kile Snider and George Tchobanoglous for “Ultraviolet Disinfection of Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse Subject to Restrictive Standards” published in Water Environment Research, 1993.

The UV Light Award for Volunteer Recognition was given to George Elliot Whitby to recognize his dedicated support of IUVA and its mission. The Lifetime Achievement Award in UV Science and Engineering was given to Dr. James R. Bolton, Professor Emeritus of University of Western Ontario and President of Bolton Photosciences Inc.

Students studying UV technology were also recognized for their contributions to research. Best UV Papers were awarded to: Jacque-Ann Grant, University of Toronto; Olya Keen, University of Colorado; Mengkai Li, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

IUVA’s mission is to advance the science, engineering and applications of ultraviolet technologies to enhance the quality of human life and to protect the environment. Founded in 1999, it is a 501(c)3 educational association of more than 500 members in 35 countries. IUVA is recognized as the leading knowledge-base and voice for UV technologies through its varied conferences and programs.

July 11, 2013: International Ultraviolet Association 2013 World Congress
IUVA.org

The International Ozone Association and International Ultraviolet Association 2013 Joint World Congress and Exhibition continues a long series of successful congresses organized worldwide by the IOA and IUVA to provide an international forum for all concerned with fundamental, engineering and applied aspects oxidation techniques involving ozone and related oxidants and/or UV techniques.

It will be the third joint IOA and IUVA World Congress and Exhibition that will combine the 20th International Ozone Association World Congress and 6th International Ultraviolet Association World Congress.

June 6, 2013: Improved Principals of the Biological Safety Cabinet Design
Labmate-online.com/news/

The new CellGard HD ES NU-481 Laminar Flow Class II, Type A2, Biological Safety Cabinet offers personnel, product and environmental protection for handling of hazardous particulate drugs and powders. ISO Class 5 sterility and protection for your valuable in process work materials.

True Laminar airflow provides a sterile environment that minimizes cross contamination. A strong air barrier 105fpm (0.53 m/s) protects the end user from hazardous materials in the work zone. Multiple oval HEPA pre-filters provide the primary means for particulate filtration that allows for an efficient and safe bag-in/bag-out filter change without exposing the interior HEPA filters. Environmental protection is achieved by all contaminated air passing through a 99.99% HEPA filter.

NuAire incorporates our existing technology and new DC ECM technology to give you the best value. There are many added benefits from DC ECM Technology: Less energy to operate, longer filter life, greater horsepower and lower potential RPM; integrated digital control system and the lowest possible noise and vibration.

The unique TouchLink™ Electronic Control System monitors and controls all cabinet functions: On/off functions for fluorescent and germicidal ultraviolet lights, blower motor and interior outlets. Monitors high/low limits for airflow and window position; Date/clock display; laboratory timer, set purge cycles, outlet timer, UV light timer, auto-run timer, night setback, or weekend turn-off; Complete diagnostic functions for a NSF trained service technician or certifier.

June 6, 2013: Determining Power Quality and Reliability Criteria for Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection in Drinking Water Facilities
Waterworld.com

There are many benefits in using Ultraviolet (UV) light instead of, or to augment, chlorine disinfection in many drinking water facilities. However, UV treatment presents some unique power challenges not faced by other processes in drinking water treatment. This white paper focuses on the power concerns of UV applications. Because of this power focus, including clarification of the UV Disinfection Guidance Manual, this document is primarily intended for the design of the electrical system feeding UV applications. Some material has been added throughout this white paper and its appendices for facility management and operations personnel.

June 4, 2013: Moldy strawberries? Not for 9 days with UV LEDs
John Roach, NBC News

Strawberries are a treat to treasure, but if stashed in the fridge for a handful of days, they're likely to grow an undesirable goatee of mold. Those days may be numbered, according to researchers who've shown that exposing the red fruit to low levels of ultraviolet light doubles their shelf life.

The proof-of-concept results stem from a challenge given by an undisclosed refrigerator manufacturer to the maker of new light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit ultraviolet (UV) light at wavelengths found in sunlight transmitted through the atmosphere.

What exactly the lights are doing to the berries to stave off mold is unknown, according to Steven Britz, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Components and Health Laboratory, who led the experiments as a side project with funding from the LED maker, Sensor Electronic Technology Inc.

"We have a hypothesis that we have tested," he told NBC News. "We could be activating defense genes in the strawberry in part. That's been shown by other people in published papers."

Other possibilities include a germicidal effect on the mold spores or a modification of the cell walls on the strawberries that somehow make them less hospitable to the growth of mold.

Whatever the reason, tests in Britz's lab found that when the strawberries are stored in a fridge under the lights continuously, spoilage was delayed for at least nine days, which is more than 50 percent longer than they unexposed berries.

Analysis of the strawberries revealed slightly higher levels of the red pigment in strawberries, normal levels of sugars and acidity, he noted.

"The strawberries, from what we could deduce, looked good," Britz said.

But did the researchers eat them?

"No, we didn’t' have enough," he said, explaining that the experimental setup allowed for just four strawberries in each container, which they kept for other analytical tests. "But they looked good, and they smelled good … I wouldn't have hesitated to eat them."

Britz will present the results of the tests at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics 2013 being held June 9-14 in San Jose, Calif.

March 26, 2013: Crystal IS claims record performance from UV-C LEDs
ledsmagazine.com by Tm Whitaker, a Contributing Editor at LEDs Magazine

Short-wavelength UV LEDs with higher output are likely to be used increasingly in applications such as disinfecting water, sterilizing surfaces, and spectroscopy.

Crystal IS, Inc., a manufacturer of ultraviolet LEDs for monitoring, purification, and disinfection applications, has reported a UV-C LED with an optical output of 65mW at 260 nm when operated in continuous mode.
UV-C refers to ultraviolet light with wavelengths of 200-280 nm. Light in the UV-C wavelength range can be used for disinfecting water, sterilizing surfaces, destroying harmful micro-organisms in food products and in air, and for spectroscopy applications.

Leo Schowalter, founder and CTO of Cystal IS, described the latest results as “a technological milestone in the continued development of brighter, more efficient and reliable UV-C LEDs. By employing die thinning and encapsulation techniques, we were able to increase the photon extraction efficiency to over 15%,” he said.

Details were recently published in Applied Physics Express. “By fabricating our LEDs on our home-grown aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates, we continue to set the pace of what is possible for the combination of highest efficiencies and longest lifetimes in the 250-280 nm wavelength range, far surpassing diodes fabricated on sapphire,” added Schowalter.

Yole Développement estimates that the UV-C lamp market was nearly $200 million in 2012, with lamps being replaced increasingly by UV LEDs.

"Our products will address some of the most pressing health concerns of our time,” said Therese Jordan, senior VP of business development. “We are seeing demand in both water and air for the disinfection and quality-monitoring aspects of UV-C. Similarly, spectroscopic instruments are also taking advantage of the high light output available in a UV-C LED.

“Unlike UV lamps, UV-C LEDs are mercury-free, compact, rugged and robust, lending themselves to an array of designs. They hold the promise of long life and environmentally friendly end-of-life disposal.”

March 19, 2013: Portland Water District installs ultraviolet micro-organism killer
therepublic.com

The Portland area's drinking is now safer.

Portland Water District officials on Monday announced that a 5.5-ton ultraviolet disinfection unit has been installed in an unused underground well at the district's Standish facility.

It is part of a $12.8 million project designed to eliminate pathogens from the public drinking water supply.

The 14-foot long unit contains 84 ultraviolet lamps and can treat 52 million gallons of water a day. The light penetrates micro-organisms and kills them. A second backup UV unit will be installed later this year.

District spokeswoman Michelle Clements tells The Portland Press Herald the impact for rate payers is expected to be "minimal."

March 19, 2013: Study Shows Effectiveness of Ultraviolet Light in Hospital Infection Control
infectioncontroltoday.com

Research presented at IDWeek 2012 showed that a specific spectrum of ultraviolet light killed certain drug-resistant bacteria on the door handles, bedside tables and other surfaces of hospital rooms, suggesting a possible future weapon in the battle to reduce hospital-associated infections.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina Hospital System used short-wave ultraviolet radiation (UV-C) to nearly eliminate Acinetobacter, Clostridium difficile or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in more than 50 patient rooms at the two medical facilities.

“We’re learning more and more about how much the hospital environment contributes to the spread of these organisms,” says lead researcher Deverick J. Anderson, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Duke and co-director of the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network. Given previous findings by the University of North Carolina team that UV-C is effective at decreasing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) in hospital rooms, he believes that the new study lays critical groundwork.

“We have a solid foundation to show that this approach succeeds in both experimental and real-world conditions,” Anderson adds. “Now it’s time to see if we can demonstrate that it indeed decreases the rate of infections among patients.”

His group’s work is among the significant research being discussed at the inaugural IDWeek meeting, which was held Oct. 17-21 in San Diego. With the theme Advancing Science, Improving Care, IDWeek features the latest science and bench-to-bedside approaches in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including HIV, across the lifespan. More than 1,500 abstracts from scientists in this country and internationally will be highlighted over the conference’s five days.

“Healthcare-associated infections are linked with significant morbidity and mortality,” says Liise-anne Pirofski, MD, an IDWeek chair for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “Although there are multiple sources for these infections, the hospital environment itself can play an important role. The findings of this study suggest that UV light could hold promise for eliminating bacteria from hospital rooms and reducing the risk of infection with these difficult bacterial pathogens in the healthcare environment. That would be a result to benefit us all.”

UV-C, which is harmful to microorganisms, has been used for decades in food, air and water purification and to sterilize equipment in laboratory settings. This study demonstrates that its medical application may offer new strategies for reducing the estimated 1.7 million hospital-associated infections that occur annually in the United States. The cost of treating these infections, often involving increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacteria, ranges from an estimated $4.5 billion to as much as $11 billion.

In their study, the Duke and University of North Carolina researchers questioned whether UV-C could be utilized to eliminate three of the most problematic germs and improve the cleanliness of patient rooms. Given the tough economics of healthcare today, hospitals’ environmental services are under pressure to turn rooms over quickly, and many surfaces can get missed by even the most diligent crews.

The study focused on general-medical and intensive-care units of the two medical centers and identified patients with infections from the targeted bacteria. Clostridium difficile, or C. diff as it is commonly known, can trigger serious intestinal conditions. Acinetobacter can cause pneumonia and serious blood, wound and urinary tract infections. VRE most frequently infects the urinary tract, bloodstream, wounds or catheter sites. Each bacterium can survive for prolonged periods on surfaces.

After the patients were discharged, the researchers obtained multiple cultures from each of five specific locations in the hospital rooms and bathrooms – high-touch areas that included bed rails, remote controls and toilets. A special machine with eight UV bulbs mounted on a central column was then positioned strategically in each room and turned on for as long as 45 minutes to eradicate both vegetative bacteria and bacterial spores. Fifteen more cultures were taken from the same locations in every room, and the pre- and post-treatment bacteria counts were compared.

The numbers of bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs) fell precipitously. Fifty-two CFUs of Acinetobacter were seen before irradiation, but only 1 CFU afterward – down 98.1 percent. As for VRE, the proportion decrease was nearly the same – 719 CFUs before and 15 after, a 97.9 percent drop.

The culturing initially was not sensitive enough to isolate C. diff, but improved techniques allowed the researchers to do further testing and the results in the UV-C treated rooms were just as dramatic.

“We would never propose that UV light be the only form of room cleaning, but in an era of increasing antibiotic resistance, it could become an important addition to hospitals’ arsenal,” Anderson says.

February 8, 2013: Karl Linden, President Elect of International Ultraviolet Association Leads Research Team That Won Gates Foundation Grant
marketwire.com / Source: International Ultraviolet Association

Dr. Karl Linden, Professor of Environmental Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder, leads a research team that was recently awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for $780,000 for the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge (RTTC). The grant challenges scientists and engineers to design a toilet that uses little or no water, is energy and cost efficient and converts waste into a useful product. Karl Linden's team proposed a design idea that utilizes solar energy to convert waste into biochar, a product that can be used as fertilizer.

Dr. Linden is the President Elect of the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA), a position he will assume in July of this year. Many of the scientists and engineers who are members of the IUVA design and maintain systems that use ultraviolet light to disinfect water, wastewater and air. These systems are in use across the United States and globally.

Linden will be leading a team of graduate students and collaborating with two other University of Colorado professors: Environmental Engineering Professor R. Scott Summers and Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor Al Weimer. Josh Kearns, a PhD candidate, has been using a biochar process to purify drinking water in developing countries. Kearns will provide his expertise for the RTTC project.

"This project is also very student-driven," said Dr. Linden in a press release issued by University of Colorado. "Students with classroom and field-based experiences in our Engineering for Developing Communities program have provided some excellent ideas, expertise and enthusiasm to make this project possible."

Paul Swain, President of IUVA, has been a colleague of Linden's for some time. "Once again, Karl Linden is at the forefront of critical issues impacting public health and the environment worldwide," says Swain. "The IUVA is fortunate to have a true leader in our field as our next International President," he added.

IUVA's mission is to advance the science, engineering and applications of ultraviolet water disinfection and air pollutant technologies to enhance the quality of human life and to protect the environment. Founded in 1999, it is a 501(c)3 educational association of more than 500 members in 35 countries. IUVA is recognized as the leading knowledge base and voice for UV technologies through its varied conferences and programs. Visit IUVA.org.

January 15, 2013: UV Experience for Inactivating Cryptosporidium in Surface Water Plants
Wateronline.com / Authors: Keith Bircher, G. Elliott Whitby and John Platz

Regulatory Background - The disinfection of pathogenic microbes in drinking water has been successful over the last century largely due to the use of chlorination. However, research conducted in the 1970’s revealed that by-products formed during the chlorination process are potentially carcinogenic and that there is a direct correlation between the concentration of chlorination by-products and the probability of certain cancers and other health problems. Following these discoveries, drinking water regulators have struggled within the confines of technological and economic limitations to find a balance between the benefits of chlorination and its harmful side effects.

In the U.S.A., the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) of 1989 mandates inactivation levels for Giardia cysts and enteric viruses, and also sets treatment standards for Trihalomethanes (THM’s, a common disinfection by-product). The SWTR provides guidance to drinking water facilities through “CT” tables that prescribe the inactivation efficacy of various processes under varying water quality conditions. By following this guidance, most water treatment plants were able to provide an adequate degree of disinfection while not compromising their Disinfection By-Product (DBP) limits and without requiring major changes to their plants. However, continuing DBP health effect research indicated that even the DBP standards required in the SWTR of 1989 produced an unacceptable level of risk and the SWTR was amended in 1996 to lower the level of DBP’s. The new DBP standards have caused many plants to fall out of compliance, requiring either extensive plant modifications or new disinfection strategies. In addition, a major outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee in 1993, and other minor cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis outbreaks caused regulators to create a removal requirement for Cryptosporidium oocysts in the 1998 Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR) and a further treatment requirement in the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) which was promulgated in December 2005. The LT2ESWTR includes a treatment requirement for Cryptosporidium and many surface water plants will fall out of compliance due to the very poor ability of chlorination to inactivate Cryptosporidium. A void was created for water treatment technologies that will inactivate protozoa and viruses, not create DBPs, and are economically feasible. One technology that meets all three criteria is ultraviolet (UV) disinfection.

Ultraviolet light has long been known to be effective for the inactivation of viruses and bacteria in drinking water and guidelines for the disinfection of viruses with UV light exist in the U.S. EPA Alternative Disinfectants and Oxidants Guidance Manual. However prior to 1998, UV was widely considered to be ineffective at economically feasible UV doses for encysted protozoa (like Giardia and Cryptosporidium), as it was thought that UV would have to rupture the cyst membrane wall. Since Giardia was the controlling microbe for the determination of the dose of chlorine and since the UV dose required for Giardia was believed to be completely too high to be considered, no reductions in chlorine usage could be gained by using UV. As a result, UV disinfection was not used for drinking water in North America; however it has been and continues to be used extensively in Europe for groundwater.

Breakthrough research conducted by Calgon Carbon Corporation in 1997 and 1998 proved that UV disinfection is, in fact, very effective for inactivating Cryptosporidium and Giardia at low UV doses. Subsequent to Calgon Carbon’s research, the U.S. EPA created a UV working group to report to the Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) on issues and costs related to UV disinfection, resulting in the development of the UV Disinfection Guidance Manual (UVDGM) by the U.S. EPA and the promulgation of the LT2ESWTR. Many utilities are now using or are considering UV disinfection in their plants as either an additional barrier for protozoa disinfection or to get disinfection credits for Cryptosporidium and/or Giardia and to lower chlorine doses to meet the 1998 DBP standards.

Read complete article: UV Experience for Inactivating Cryptosporidium in Surface Water Plants /PDF/