PROCESS

Our Sterilization Process

01 The Assessment

We begin with a formal interview to determine the scope of services wanted or needed and establish expectations accordingly. This assessment includes:

a. Measuring the size of the location to serve (measuring)

b. What services are of interest (Full cleaning, contamination area testing, sanitizing)

02 The cleaning, sanitizing or both

If sterilization is included we will determine the size the area treatment, determine the "Hot Sopts" and begin cleaning sanitizing while at the same time we are placing the dosimeters in place.

03 Configuring the equipment for irradiation

We begin placing all equipment in the proper area, set up the timer and begin the sterilization.

04 Post treatment evaluation and testing and treatment validation

Instruments and dosimeters reading, validation of the premises as "treated"

What is UVC- Sterilization - Disinfection Technology?

Is a process mostly used in the healthcare and the food industry to safely eliminate contaminants without the need of chemicals or disinfectant products to be in contact with the targeted surface. Ultra-Violet (UV) light is invisible to the human eye and is divided into UV-A, UV-B and UV-C.

UV-C is found within 200-280 nm range. 185-254 nano meters - renders the organisms sterile.

When organisms can no longer reproduce they die. UV-C lamps have their main emission at 254 nm so, it is extremely effective in breaking down at the DNA/RNA level of micro-organisms. This means that they cannot replicate and unable to cause disease.

However, micro-organisms effective resistance to UV light varies considerably. Therefore, the environment of the particular micro-organism greatly influences the radiation dose needed for its destruction.

How does it work?

UV-C light is a shorter wavelength than visible light and it is able to penetrate and destroy the DNA/RNA in microorganisms causing disruption in the continuous reproduction, ends uncontrolled propagation and most important produces immediate annihilation. UV-C light exposure eliminates infectious, contaminated areas in minutes improving instantly the work environment.

There is no “visual” evidence in the decontamination process how do I know it works?

One of the methods commonly used in hospitals, clinics and food manufacturing plants to measure levels of contamination is to conduct an ATP test (ATP means Adenine Triphosphate a material found in all living organisms including, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and thousands of other micro-organisms.) visit www.hygiena.com for details.

"Hot Spots" tests conducted in tools and instruments, hand rails or door handles even cell phones for example are captured in a monitoring device that produces a reading in RLU’s (relative light units). Let's assume that the measuring device was calibrated to read anything above 100 RLU’s to be considered NON-ACCEPTABLE. A separate test is then conducted in the same "Hot Spots" after a 30 mins of UV-C light treatment. The results WILL NOT RENDERED A LEVEL OF CLEANLINESS but it will show in quantifiable values the effectiveness of the sanitation.

Another visual method available is the use of dosimeters to capture radiation levels.

What is a “dosimeter” and how it works?

Dosimeter: Is a device used to measure an absorbed dose of ionizing radiation, it is a disposable indicator (image below) used in the decontamination process where UV-C light is the source of radiation and it consists of a substrate with photo-active ink that reacts to the UV-C dose (253.7 nm) received, changing its color.

The different tones in colors obtained after the treatment process are a clear indication of the intensity of the light source and the duration of time applied which is necessary to determine if the desire result has been achieved.

A dosimeter is an accurate, efficient, and affordable solution to verify UV-C dosage levels when using ultraviolet devices for surface disinfection.

How is UV-C radiation treatment applied?

Ultra Violet Irradiation lamps (also known as UVGI's) come in different sizes and shapes thus, energy capacity In terms of watts will vary from one another. It is important to recognize how much energy (Radiant Intensity) and for how long (period of time, using a conversion of 10 sec / 15cm ratio) will be necessary to effectively kill 99.9% of micro-organisms. (WEBAI only uses equipment from EPA approved vendors)

Is UV-C radiation treatment exposure safe for humans, plants or animals?

The answer is no, plants, pets and humans should avoid any direct or indirect contact with the lights without proper protection equipment and protective eye wear. Treatment of radiation should only be applied by trained personnel only.

UV-C-Lights are bad because they generate Ozone... is that true?

Ozone, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE OZONE in our atmosphere, is called Vacuum Ultraviolet (UV-V), is a gas molecule that contains three (3) oxygen atoms – and as such, it has a destabilizing effect on oxygen in the air we breath leading to its irritation and danger to humans. So, a UV-C lamp at the 253.7 nm wavelength can actually destroy ozone which will be good for us!

Any radiation below 230 nm range though still effective to kill micro-organisms will not remove Ozone and the treated area may not be safe for a period of time.

What is the UVC dose for killing or disabling the COVID-19 virus?

Because the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) is so new, the scientific community doesn’t yet have a specific deactivation dosage. However, we know the dosage values for comparable viruses in the same SARS virus family are 10-20 mJ/cm2 using direct UV-C light at a wavelength of 254 nm; this dosage will achieve 99.9% disinfection (i.e., inactivation) under controlled lab conditions. In real-life, the virus is often hidden or shaded from direct UVC light, reducing UV-C’s effectiveness. To compensate, researchers are applying dosages of 1,000 - 3,000 mJ/cm2 to ensure 99.9% deactivation, the current CDC disinfection goal.

We keep seeing the terms ‘watts’ and ‘joules’ in descriptions of how much UV is required to disinfect something. What do these terms mean? Are they the same? Why are they important?

Most people seem to be familiar with the term ‘watts' (from light bulbs and electric bills); but probably not the term ‘joules' (a metric measurement term). In short, both are used in measuring energy (Radiant Intensity) in any form (e.g., electricity as well as light):

A Watt is a measure of the rate of energy delivery.

A Joule is a cumulative measure of the total amount of energy delivered.

What the CDC has to say…

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/decontamination-reuse-respirators.html

“Crisis Standards of Care Decontamination Recommendations"

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), vaporous hydrogen peroxide (VHP), and moist heat showed the most promise as potential methods to decontaminate FFRs. (filtering face piece respirators) Therefore, researchers, decontamination companies, healthcare systems, or individual hospitals should focus current efforts on these technologies.”