Open AccessPortable Ultraviolet-C Chambers for Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2
Author(s) -
Shelby Claytor,
R. G. Campbell,
Ashton Hattori,
E K Brown,
Chris Hollis,
Max Schureck,
Howard Atchley,
John H. Stone,
Michael Grady,
Bong-Jun Yang,
T. Robert Harris
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of research of the national institute of standards and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.202
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 2165-7254
pISSN - 1044-677X
DOI - 10.6028/jres.126.056
Subject(s) - ultraviolet , covid-19 , personal protective equipment , materials science , ultraviolet radiation , reuse , coating , environmental science , optoelectronics , computer science , composite material , waste management , radiochemistry , chemistry , medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , engineering , disease , pathology
The goal of this project was to create and optimize the performance of portablechambers for reliable ultraviolet (UV) disinfection of personal protective equipment(PPE) and enable its safe reuse. During unforeseen times of high demand for PPE, such asduring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acuterespiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), single-use PPE supply can be quicklydepleted. UV radiation has been shown to disinfect materials with high efficacy. Thispaper reports the design and construction of two 280 nm ultraviolet-C (UV-C)disinfection chambers in the form of portable chambers with 46 cm × 46 cm × 46 cminterior dimensions, one using light-emitting diodes and the other using mercury vaporlamps. This paper summarizes and presents a review of SARS-CoV-2 UV deactivationresearch during 2020 to 2021. Additionally, this paper discusses efforts to increase theuniformity and overall intensity of the UV-C radiation within the chambers through theinstallation of a UV-reflective, porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material. Acalculator prototype was additionally designed to calculate the reduction of SARS-CoV-2as a result of UV-C disinfection, and the prototype code is presented. The paperdescribes the selection of UV-C radiation sources for the chambers and the chambers’mechanical and electrical design, PTFE installation, testing, and safetyconsiderations.