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Germicidal UV
for the Control of Airborne Bacteria
and Viruses: A Critical Review of Efficacy and the Production of Secondary
Pollutants
Robert Groth (9863063)
Sadegh Niazi (9863060)
Henry P. Oswin (11450705)
Kirsten Spann (670280)
Sasho Gligorovski (5760071)
Edward A. Nardell (24887100)
Helen Cox (66086)
Simon A. Joosten (10970479)
Suman S. Majumdar (3369140)
Siddhanth Sharma (13194578)
Vinay J. Menon (24887103)
Jason Monty (17244067)
Lidia Morawska (1445458)
Zoran Ristovski (1791259)
Biophysics
Biochemistry
Medicine
Pharmacology
Biotechnology
Ecology
Infectious Diseases
Virology
pathogen structural characteristics
intelligent building systems
cell wall characteristics
median susceptibility constants
inactivating airborne pathogens
adequate ventilation appears
generate air pollutants
higher exposure thresholds
2 </ sup
adequate ventilation
z </
higher dose
airborne diseases
airborne bacteria
2 cm
widespread adoption
third objective
therefore likely
still concerning
second objective
review addresses
promising solution
prolonged periods
pollutant accumulation
laboratory experiments
key challenges
indoor transmission
human harm
human exposure
high levels
high concentrations
harmful levels
greatly mitigate
germicidal uv
first objective
enough studies
determine whether
critical review
consistent monitoring
completely safeguard
bacterial families
bacteria across
absolute prior
5 cm
254 nm
Germicidal
ultraviolet radiation (GUV) has long been
a promising
solution to indoor transmission of airborne diseases, but has not
yet seen widespread adoption. This review addresses: the efficacy
of GUV in inactivating airborne pathogens in laboratory experiments;
the effect of pathogen structural characteristics and taxonomy on
GUV susceptibility; and evidence that GUV produces airborne pollutants,
all of which are key challenges to the widespread adoption of this
technology. With respect to the first objective, the median susceptibility
constants <i>Z</i> for viruses and bacteria across all wavelengths
were 2.2 cm<sup>2</sup> mJ<sup>–1</sup> and 3.5 cm<sup>2</sup> mJ<sup>–1</sup>, respectively. GUV using 222 nm radiation
has higher exposure thresholds than 254 nm, which permits a higher
dose and is therefore likely more efficacious in practice. For the
second objective, there is a difference in efficacy between bacterial
families, dependent on cell wall characteristics, but there are not
enough studies on viruses to determine whether their structural properties
influence UV susceptibility. For the third objective, both 222 and
254 nm can generate air pollutants that differ in composition, quantity,
and production pathways, and under some conditions can be at harmful
levels. However, operating the devices at fluence rates within guideline
limits and with adequate ventilation appears to greatly mitigate the
risk of pollutant accumulation. The potential for human harm from
these pollutants, however, is still concerning and requires a combination
of adequate ventilation, consistent monitoring, and intelligent building
systems to completely safeguard against human exposure to high levels
of pollutants over prolonged periods. Exposure to high concentrations
of pollutants leads to morbidity, and so confidence in the ability
to prevent pollutant accumulation must be absolute prior to the implementation
of GUV.
2026-09-14T00:00:00Z
Dataset
Dataset
10.1021/acsestair.6c00196.s001
https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Germicidal_UV_for_the_Control_of_Airborne_Bacteria_and_Viruses_A_Critical_Review_of_Efficacy_and_the_Production_of_Secondary_Pollutants/33742209
CC BY-NC 4.0