During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many questions about proper use of germicidal ultraviolet light (UV-C) energy for surface and air inactivation.
The Handbook committee for ASHRAE Technical Committee, 2.9, (TC 2.9) Ultraviolet Air and Surface Treatment, has been meeting regularly to update the technical information in ASHRAE Handbook, says Dean Saputa, associate member ASHRAE, TC 2.9’s Handbook subcommittee chair. The updates will go into Handbook Online as supplemental sneak previews of future versions of the chapters.
The TC is working on the following updates:
- Biosecurity and preparedness with different UV technologies using data from ASHRAE’s Epidemic Task Force.
- The use of UV-C for surface decontamination including mobile roll-in-the-room UV-C devices including pulsed Xenon sources.
- Dose and microbial response section to show a chart of well cited and documented microbes and the amount of UV-C energy it takes to inactivate at 90% and 99%.
- Devices that use UV-C lights for air purifiers, handhelds, and other gadgets.
- Data on upper air germicidal UV fixtures including information about safety, commissioning, and dosing.
- New UV technologies that produce outputs at 222 nm (also called Far UV).
- Technologies using 405 nm wavelengths for bacterial disinfection.
Additionally, Saputa talked with ASHRAE Journal about the updates and best practices. For more information on the changes and to read the full Q&A with Saputa, visit the ASHRAE website.