A study on UVC irradiance emitted by various types of UVGI products

Abstract

There are many types of Ultra Violet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) products available in the market used in many applications such as sterilization and disinfection. These products are popular during the spread of pandemic COVID-19 and become an option of disinfection method for surface and air such as in office, hospital, hotel room and car. The objective of the study is to investigate the UVC lamps of the UVGI products based on their wavelength. This is to validate whether the product samples are using UVC lamp as stated in the specification which normally has 253.7 to 254 nm wavelength. Besides that, the UVC intensity level has been measured to determine the irradiance emitted by the lamps. The measurement was carried out at various distance to see the effectiveness of the UVGI in disinfection process at different size of spaces. UVC is categorised as non-ionising radiation and has potential health effects due to excessive exposure specially to eye and skin. The equipment used for the irradiance measurement is IL 1700 radiometer with UVC sensor and the measurement data recorded in microwatt/cm 2 . The irradiance level of the samples was compared with the permissible exposure limit to the members of public by International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).