Illuminating Integrity in Lighting

Illuminating Integrity in Lighting

AllThingsLighting Blog Post – Ultraviolet Disinfection for Consumers

Apr 21, 2020 | News, Press Release, Science

If you think that there are government regulations to protect consumers from astoundingly dangerous UV germicidal lamps …

In these unfortunate times, it seems that everyone is looking for ways to help with the COVID-19 crisis. From a lighting designer’s perspective, one solution is obvious: ultraviolet radiation. We have known about the disinfectant properties of ultraviolet radiation for nearly 150 years (Downes and Blunt 1877), and we have been using low-pressure mercury arc lamps to kill bacteria and inactivate viruses for the past 85 years (Wells and Fair 1935).

The Illuminating Engineer Society’s Photobiology Committee published an outstanding FAQ titled Germicidal Ultraviolet (GUV) – Frequently Asked Questions last week. However, this document has one small but critical omission that needs to be addressed: ultraviolet disinfection lamps for home use. To address this issue, I have written the following article: https://lnkd.in/gRp59VA